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ladynorbertSo I signed up for that anon writing meme last night, as did a number of you. I received two comments which basically contradict each other, because one said that my relationships are very believable and perfectly paced while the other said that the women I write are offensive. I assume this means Elizabeth since she's the only woman I've ever really written, not to mention the comment's reference to an English rose. The only other character I've ever written who fits that description is Charlotte, and the number of people with whom I've shared more of Charlotte than her cameo in the last Elizabeth story is very limited.
I thought about responding, but it was anonymous and I doubt the commenter would ever see it anyway. But hey, why not respond here?
First, here's the actual comment in its entirety:
In the interests of helping you find a way past it, I have to say find your female characters deeply lacking. As a woman myself they are actually almost offensive. There is nothing wrong with a book or story that centers around a romantic relationship, there are plenty of successful novels out there that deal with them as their main storyline, however it is not an easy balance to strike, as your writing often demonstrates for the worse. A female character requiring a male to validate her existence and give her purpose is, in my critical opinion, worthless and boring. Real women have desires and needs that go beyond becoming a homemaker, wife, and baby factory, they are red-blooded and they are flawed. Flaws such as being 'too kind' or 'too trusting' are fine but not on their own, never ever on their own. They create a Mary-Sue, a woman whose only failing is being too saccharine, a real woman can be vain and still be kind, she can be sarcastic and even caustic, and still be a good person. I feel as though you are almost frightened of giving a woman these real traits for some reason I wouldn’t presume to know, not knowing you as a person, but people are complicated creatures and over simplifying characters by limiting their faults to these Sueish staples frankly just doesn't recreate that on the page.
You may like to write about an ideal woman and her quest to find a husband, being saved by the men around her since she is a simpering, English Rose unable to defend herself, whilst said men slowly fall in love with her for unfathomable reasons, but I have to say, anyone who has a respectable taste in literature, published or fanbased, most certainly does not enjoy reading them.
1. Elizabeth did not at any time need a man to validate her. She was doing just fine on her own before she ever met the League.
2. The stories are the Private Diary of Elizabeth Quatermain. In other words, their viewpoint is subjective by nature because it's a young woman writing in her own diary. Of course she's not going to dwell on her own worst characteristics!
3. The stories were never about her quest to find a husband. I have never written anything about a woman's quest to find a husband. I find that accusation particularly baffling. Elizabeth didn't expect to fall in love, it just happened. Only one man throughout the story fell in love with her, and he wasn't the one I thought would do it.
4. Even if finding a husband had been Elizabeth's goal from the beginning, that wouldn't have been entirely without logical foundation. The stories are set in the Victorian era. A society girl in the Victorian era, which is what Elizabeth was, didn't have too many other aims besides finding a good husband.
I am, at least, now at a point where I'm not saying that the commenter must hate my guts if they don't like my character. I signed on for the anonymous meme knowing full well that I might expect to receive negative criticism; everyone's entitled to their opinion. And the Elizabeth stories are by no means perfect. But they were fun to write, and the fact that they keep getting new people marking them as favorite stories more than a year after the last one was completed must indicate that they're also fun to read.
Besides, Elizabeth is way less of a Mary Sue than Bella Swan. ;) And her boyfriend doesn't sparkle!
I thought about responding, but it was anonymous and I doubt the commenter would ever see it anyway. But hey, why not respond here?
First, here's the actual comment in its entirety:
In the interests of helping you find a way past it, I have to say find your female characters deeply lacking. As a woman myself they are actually almost offensive. There is nothing wrong with a book or story that centers around a romantic relationship, there are plenty of successful novels out there that deal with them as their main storyline, however it is not an easy balance to strike, as your writing often demonstrates for the worse. A female character requiring a male to validate her existence and give her purpose is, in my critical opinion, worthless and boring. Real women have desires and needs that go beyond becoming a homemaker, wife, and baby factory, they are red-blooded and they are flawed. Flaws such as being 'too kind' or 'too trusting' are fine but not on their own, never ever on their own. They create a Mary-Sue, a woman whose only failing is being too saccharine, a real woman can be vain and still be kind, she can be sarcastic and even caustic, and still be a good person. I feel as though you are almost frightened of giving a woman these real traits for some reason I wouldn’t presume to know, not knowing you as a person, but people are complicated creatures and over simplifying characters by limiting their faults to these Sueish staples frankly just doesn't recreate that on the page.
You may like to write about an ideal woman and her quest to find a husband, being saved by the men around her since she is a simpering, English Rose unable to defend herself, whilst said men slowly fall in love with her for unfathomable reasons, but I have to say, anyone who has a respectable taste in literature, published or fanbased, most certainly does not enjoy reading them.
1. Elizabeth did not at any time need a man to validate her. She was doing just fine on her own before she ever met the League.
2. The stories are the Private Diary of Elizabeth Quatermain. In other words, their viewpoint is subjective by nature because it's a young woman writing in her own diary. Of course she's not going to dwell on her own worst characteristics!
3. The stories were never about her quest to find a husband. I have never written anything about a woman's quest to find a husband. I find that accusation particularly baffling. Elizabeth didn't expect to fall in love, it just happened. Only one man throughout the story fell in love with her, and he wasn't the one I thought would do it.
4. Even if finding a husband had been Elizabeth's goal from the beginning, that wouldn't have been entirely without logical foundation. The stories are set in the Victorian era. A society girl in the Victorian era, which is what Elizabeth was, didn't have too many other aims besides finding a good husband.
I am, at least, now at a point where I'm not saying that the commenter must hate my guts if they don't like my character. I signed on for the anonymous meme knowing full well that I might expect to receive negative criticism; everyone's entitled to their opinion. And the Elizabeth stories are by no means perfect. But they were fun to write, and the fact that they keep getting new people marking them as favorite stories more than a year after the last one was completed must indicate that they're also fun to read.
Besides, Elizabeth is way less of a Mary Sue than Bella Swan. ;) And her boyfriend doesn't sparkle!
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Date: 2009-05-20 03:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-20 05:54 pm (UTC)good on you for not taking it personally, though. that's the hardest part for most artists.
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Date: 2009-05-20 11:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-20 11:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-21 07:07 am (UTC)"Then Buffy staked Edward. The End."