In which the author continues to goof off

[rolanni]

So, yesterday was various errands, including the Getting of the Flu Shots, and tomorrow there are more errands.  Today, I believe there is cleaning, including post-writing disaster control of my office.  Which, to be fair, is Slightly Less Awful than it Often Is in terms of Sheer Volume.  On the other paw, I can't just sweep stacks of paper into trash bags, either, because there are Large Swaths of at least one other book interleaved with the pages that finally came to make up Dragon in Exile.

Speaking of Dragon in Exile, or at least, speaking of Val Con and Miri, who are more-or-less major actors in the novel, something went past my eyeballs a while ago, regarding characterization in the Liaden Universe®. The assertion of the writer was that while the authors get positive points for writing strong female characters, those points are crushed under the number of  negative points the authors get for pairing said strong, intelligent females with a male characters who are even stronger and smarter.

It probably goes without saying -- but I'll say it anyway -- that I don't see it that way.  Speaking specifically of Miri  and Val Con, what I see is two smart, capable people who have had vastly different lives, and who therefore have different strengths, and weaknesses, who happen to complement each other.

As a question of craft, I've always felt that it's a cheat to demonstrate that one's female character is strong and intelligent by deliberately pairing her with a weak or venal, less-intelligent male.  Just as it's a cheat to demonstrate that your hero is strong, smart, and morally upstanding by pairing him with Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes.

Also, just personally, I wonder why a strong, smart character of any gender you like would partner with a dummy (OK; maybe in terms of muscle or money).  But, generally, in terms of survival, wouldn't you want the smartest, strongest, most sympatico person you could get for your partner?

So, anyhow, that's what I think.  What do you think?

Comments

[charlie russel (from livejournal.com)]

I think the writer got it wrong, full stop. Strong characters naturally pair with each other. That you have strong female characters is very much a plus and one of the (many) things I enjoy about your books. The idea that somehow strong females should be paired with weak males? Why would that make any sense at all? Furthermore, I don't see Val Con as stronger than Miri. Different strengths that complement each other.

If there is one area that I think your Liaden books are missing in characterization, it is the complete and total lack of gay characters. And I realize that having started down that path roughly 30 years ago, it would be difficult to introduce them now. (Which, btw, is why I'm glad to see that being addressed in Archer's Beach, at least. )

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the most we could get away with was bisexuality, which got us the famous "housewives in Iowa" lecture from our editor, including what I believe is my second-most favorite-ever sentence uttered to us by an editor -- right behind Stephe Pagel's "I'll take them! ALL of them!" -- which was, "It was my understanding that writers want to sell books."

It's a different place, the past.