Adrienne Kress > Quotes

“Note to self: Never leave home without glitter.”
― Adrienne Kress, The Friday Society

“There they go, my friend, right into the sunset. And even though it happens to be overcast at the moment, let's pretend it isn't, because it's just that much nicer.”
― Adrienne Kress, Alex and the Ironic Gentleman

“Aw, man. I’d just shot an angel in the face.I made my way into the foyer and sat down on the stairs. I glanced up at the big old grandfather clock. It was going on ten. My folks would be home soon.
“How was your evening, honey?”
“Killed an angel.”
“Well, isn’t that nice.”
That wasn’t happening. Daddy never liked guns in the first place, Mother just pretended to. I was so grounded.”
― Adrienne Kress, Outcast

“Did you shoot me again sweetheart?”
― Adrienne Kress, Outcast

“Sing 'em to remember.
Sing 'em because you remember.”
― Adrienne Kress, Outcast

“I believe instinct took over because the shotgun fired in the opposite direction, and he disappeared.
Good effort.
"I don't think sarcasm is helping your situation right now!" I called out at no one as I racked my second round. The sound was comforting.
He reappeared maybe ten feet away in front of me. I heard laughing in my head.
You're strange.
That's the last straw, buddy.
"Yeah, well, you're dead."
And I shot that angel right in the face.”
― Adrienne Kress, Outcast

“we as authors have been writing about people we aren't for forever. We find a way to empathise, we find a way in. Female characters are no different. All they are are characters. They are people too. Instead of asking yourself, "How do I write this female soldier?" ask yourself, "How do I write this soldier? Where is she from, how was she raised, does she have a sense of humour? Is she big and tall, is she short and petite? How does her size affect her ability to fight? What is her favourite weapon, her least favourite? Why? Is she more logical than emotional? The other way around? Was she an only child and spoiled, was she the eldest of six siblings and a surrogate mother? How does that upbringing affect how she interacts with her team? etc etc and so forth." Notice how the first question gets you some kind of broad, generalised answer, likely resulting in a stereotype, and how the second version asks lots and lots of smaller questions with the goal of creating someone well rounded.

One would hope, really, that we as authors ask such detailed questions of all our characters, regardless of gender.


So let me, at long last, actually answer the original question:

"How do I write a female character?"

Write her the way you would write any other character. Give her dimension, give her strength but please also don't forget to give her weaknesses (for a totally strong nothing can beat her kind of girl is not a person, she's again a type - the polar opposite yet exactly the same as the damsel in distress).

Create a person.”
― Adrienne Kress

“Then he smiled. It was the first time I’d seen him smile, and it threw me. It was kind of…awesome.
He spoke: “I can see through your dress.”
“What?” I said automatically.
“The light coming from behind you like that. Can see right through it.” The smile widened.
“I…”
“Look, I’m not complaining. And since you haven’t moved, I’m guessing you don’t mind me looking.”
I had no idea what to do, so I stumbled further into the shed and walked to the side into the dark so I wasn’t being backlit anymore.
“And you’ve come inside, so you want to be closer to me.”
“No!” This I shouted a little too loudly. And to prove how “no” I was, I pointed the shears at him.
“You gonna cut it off?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Cut what off?” Damn it. I had to stop answering him automatically like that. Think before you speak, Riley. Think!The young man glanced down at himself, and I almost followed his look until I remembered that he was totally naked, and then I understood what he meant.God, no, I hadn’t even thought of that! Who did he think I was?Maybe the girl who shot him in the face maybe?”
― Adrienne Kress, Outcast

“There are certain bits of stories that, because of their nature, are rather dull. This is because very little happens in them. And for some reason, they also always happen to take place over a rather tediously long period of time. So, yes, I could tell you of the five-hour trek Timothy and Alex took to reach the hidden bay. I could tell you that when they reached the fort, the view was rather impressive. I could also mention that Timothy lost his footing at one point as they made their way through the thick forest on the other side and, had Alex not grabbed the back of his jacket, his tale would have ended there rather abruptly.
But honestly...
Let's just get to the pirate stuff already.”
― Adrienne Kress, Timothy and the Dragon's Gate

“ You would be forgiven for thinking Alex Morningside was a boy. In fact, she would be the first to laugh at this, because, for one thing, she wasn't, and for another, she had an Excellent Sense of Humour. It wasn't that she wanted to be a boy or anything, it was simply that she didn't see much difference in being treated as a girl or boy. Because, after all, everyone is just people.
One of the reasons people thought she was a boy was her haircut. Her haircut looked like someone had put a bowl on her head and cut around it. Which is exactly what her uncle had done. Also, they thought she was a boy because her name was Alex. Of course, Alex was short for Alexandra, but neither Alex nor her uncle liked that very much, so they shortened the name. They could have shortened it the other was I suppose - Andra - but she and her uncle preferred Alex.”
― Adrienne Kress, Alex and the Ironic Gentleman

“When you are from a well-respected family, often times you will have pressure to "live up to your family name." That is to say, depending on your family's reputation, you will have to live in accordance with that reputation so that other people keep thinking of your family in the way it is used to being thought of. If you come from a family of do-gooders, then it is important to do good. If you come from a family of investors, it is important to make lots of money. If you come from a family of plastic surgeons, you should know how to pick a nose. And if you do not live up to your family name, then possibly your family will disown you. Which isn't really nice, but can happen.”
― Adrienne Kress, Timothy and the Dragon's Gate

“He would rock back and forth in his chair, making sure it squeaked ominously. He always found a chair that squeaked ominously. He was so good at squeaking ominously that he managed to make year-six teacher number two burst into tears.”
― Adrienne Kress, Timothy and the Dragon's Gate

“I had the best image of several dragons sitting on a couch crying into a microphone...”
― Adrienne Kress, Timothy and the Dragon's Gate

“And, my friend, above all things, you most definitely, definitely, do not get away with stepping over the red rope.”
― Adrienne Kress, Alex and the Ironic Gentleman

“I shone the light straight up to try to guess, but the old wooden stairs seemed like they went on forever. Straight up to heaven. I flashed the light down, saw the stairs beneath me. Going on into the dark. Straight down to … well, you get where I’m going with this.”
― Adrienne Kress, Dreams Come to Life

“Her brain, which had up until then still been in the shower, toweled off and joined her on the beach. It whispered a tiny thought to her and then went to dry its hair.”
― Adrienne Kress, Alex and the Ironic Gentleman

“And at least you’re not outside in the heat. Though truthfully inside wasn’t that much cooler. The fans in the ceiling just seemed to push the hot around.”
― Adrienne Kress, Dreams Come to Life

“A solid relationship is about two people trusting each other. About two people complementing each other. Not just one person putting all their hopes into someone else. Because no one can live up to that.”
― Adrienne Kress, The Secret Loves of Geek Girls

“Timothy bit the inside of his lip and pretended to nod sagely. Things were starting to sound a little far-fetched again. "Man," he said, "that's... that's rough. I've heard that being a dragon servant totally stinks. I think I saw a talk show about that once. 'I'm a dragon servant and I want respect,' or something like that.”
― Adrienne Kress, Timothy and the Dragon's Gate

“Cantas para recordar.
Cantas porque recuerdas.
Recuerdo, Gabe, recuerdo.
Y nunca voy a olvidar.”
― Adrienne Kress, Outcast

“And then there was an explosion.”
― Adrienne Kress, The Friday Society

“This story starts as most stories do, with a pig in a teeny hat.”
― Adrienne Kress