Writing Padme and Leia

I find out of all of the Star Wars characters I write, Padme and Leia are the hardest. It's difficult trying to make them strong, but not too "manly". Make them feminine without them being whiny and damsel-ish. How do you find the right balance?

How do you write these two femme fatals?

 

It's easy to write strong women as people who would steamroller over others, but always try to keep in mind that these two women, while strong, also have their own inner fears and inhibitions. In every situation, I guess you just need to ask yourself, is this a scene where she comes off strong or is this a scene where she would have reason to hold back?

 

It's okay if you write Leia or Padme as seemingly uncaring (I.E when Leia's being a senator and when Padme is Amidala) but try to make sure you describe how they feel. Both these women are used to hiding their emotions and thoughts from outsiders but not from themselves and the readers. Let the audience have a look at them the way others cant
I really hope this helped.

 

Let the reader see them in different situations, and how they act. That's the best way to do it, IMHO.

-Tim

 

I have a kind of Bible that I use when writing women. It's a non-fiction book by Susan Isaacs, and it's called "Brave Dames and Wimpettes: What Women Are Really Doing on Page and Screen." Isaacs takes dozens of examples from books and movies and gives her reasons for why some are brave dames, semi-brave dames, near-wimpettes, or wimpettes.

The Brave Dame philosophy
A brave dame is passionate about something besides passion.
Even in the worst of times, a brave dame does not give up. She is resilient.
A brave dame is competent.
A brave dame is willing to face moral and physical challenges.
A brave dame has high ethical standards.
A brave dame stands up to injustice.
A brave dame is a true friend.

Wimpette philosophy
All men are really little boys at heart.
Your worth rises in direct proportion to your masochism.
A wimpette always opts for indirection and subterfuge.
Men are strong and women are weak.
A wimpette has low ethical standards. She is a moral lightweight except in matters of virtue, and even then, her abstinence usually has to do with her percieved value to a man rather than any deeply held belief.
A wimpette betrays other women, including her friends.
A wimpette does not take responsibility for her own actions and blames her lack of action on others.
A wimpette looks to a man to give her an identity.

I just keep these articles and some of Isaacs' more detailed opinions from the book in mind when I write Leia or Padmé. I don't use the book as a strict blueprint, but I have reshaped several scenes in one fic to make Padmé a little braver, And as I proofread it now, I like the changes.

Now, I'm not suggesting you all go out and buy an armful of feminist literature, it's just that this is what works for me. Good luck!

 

Leia: When I'm writing her, I use ESB as a very serious guide with her. It's my Leia bible that I set her by in all my stories. Strong, determined, young Princess, but also has a heart.

Padme: This character I find really hard to write. I try and keep her strong, but she always comes out with serious emotional issues when I write her. I'm terrible to her. Period.

 

I actually find both fairly easy to write, and I have had a few compliments about my characterisations of them - in particular Padmé. But then I struggle with other characters, so it comes out a balance.

Both of them, I've found, are strong people. Passionate about what they believe. To write them I focus on this. Thye have a tendency to go after what they think is right and heaven help anyone who stands in their way.

At the same time both can be a little singleminded and tend to ignore their own needs/safety in favour of others.

Both have their own fears, and in different ways it centres on the loss of people they love.

They are both very proud and are unwilling to give up their morals for any reason. To do so would be reprehensible to them.

So far I've treated them as being very similar, which is often (particularly through movie-verse) we're steered into seeing them. However there are difference. Leia's temper, for instance, is far more aparent than Padmé's.

I find the best way to get a hold on a character is to watch the movies and study them. The way they act in situations the way they interact with diffferent people etc. Which is possibly why I find Padmé so easy to write, I feel she is one of the few worthwhile characters in the PT.

Well, I hope I helped a little and didn't blabber to much. It's a little late here. I should go to bed.

 

I can do an okay Padme by keeping her feminine, but strong. She can be haughty, but she always has the greater good in mind. To me, she seems to sometimes even fight her feminism (am I using that word in the right context? ) to do her duty, as we saw in AOTC. She's ALWAYS focused.

Leia, I have trouble with. I think I always end up making her seem to hard or bitter. It's weird, but I almost have to think of her as a bit of a female Anakin to get some of her quirks (like her temper and stubborness) right, then give her some of Padme's strengths like her nobility and sense of honor. She's a very complex character like him, both are hard to write for sure.

 

Rhonderoo, I actually find that Leia is more like Anakin in temperment and presence, but she has many of Padmé's noble qualities, like you were saying. From talking with other people, I've found that I'm not the only one who believes this, so you may not be very far off.