Why Couldn’t McGyver Be a Girl?

Female protagonists often take on one of three equally unsatisfying personalities – WonderWoman, Nerd or Clueless. Why don’t we see more girl McGyvers?

McGyver wasn’t an action hero – he was an overcomer. But he wasn’t a geek, just resourceful. And he was neither a fool, nor a brainiac. Aren’t there girls who fit the same mold?

Making a female McGyver – that’s what I tried to achieve with Sarah Sue Morgan, the protagonist in LINCOLN’S DIARY – a novel. If you’ve read it, let me know if I came close.

Strong Female Characters

As I created Sarah Sue Morgan for LINCOLN’S DIARY – A NOVEL I hoped she’d become a strong female character. One of my readers called her a “female MacGyver.” Hopefully, that means I came close to the mark.  But since my next novel includes a female protagonist, I decided to do some additional research on the subject.

I think I struck pay dirt when I came across an article on  overthinkingit.com.  The flowchart probably overthinks the question a little, but the trail that runs along the top of the graphic provides a pretty good recipe for creating strong female characters. All you have to do is answer the following questions in the affirmative. Let’s see how Sarah scores.

• Can she carry her own story? [check]
• Is she three dimensional? [more concrete – does she have internal conflict? check]
• Is she more than a flag bearer for an idea? [check]
• Does she have any flaws? [and we’re talking ditz here … check]
• Does she survive the second act? [check]

Bingo! She’s a strong female character. 

Of course that’s how I see it. The trick is making her live that way on the printed page.  If you take the time to check her out, please let me know if I hit the mark.