: Re: How to add depth to primary female character that contrasts well with primary male characters I am attempting to write a relatively complex SciFi military novel following 3 primary characters.

@Sims2267584

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You are right: there is enough backstory to make a well built female character. I appreciated the contrast between the male protagonist, who lacks self-motivation, and your female lead, who seems to be struggling against prejudice.

but when writing her I tend to describe the environment or give more backstory than actually describing what is happening and what she thinks

The real question here should be: why? Why are you giving her more backstory than the others? Why aren't you describing what she thinks?
You mentioning her having a short temper and being used to being subject to prejudice. This is really easy to characterize: she may see someone staring down at her and think "Geez, another one of those jackasses here judging me for my upbringing. I'm not saying you shouldn't explain why this happens, but generally you should put yourself in her shoes.

The first step to make is stop thinking "female character, and since I am male, I can't write her well". Treat her as any other character, for starter. Gender is not irrelevant, but it seems to me that its stopping you from "resonating" well with your character, so you are probably giving it too much importance.

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