Deborah’s story can be found in Judges chapter 4, so be sure to follow along. There are many different lessons we can learn from this story, but one of them stands out to me. Seeing as Deborah is the only woman judge in this book, I thought it would be fitting to address the idea of a strong female character.

Many authors shy away from writing soppy, weak, emotional women characters—which they should. But instead of correcting these characters, they run right past the truth to a one-dimensional, unfeeling, female warrior.

Today, I’m going to be showing you several tips to consider when trying to write a strong female character.

1. Tough is not always buff

Your female character doesn’t have to possess physical strength to be strong. Along with this, they don’t have to know how to shoot a gun or something else of that nature. True strength doesn’t lie in physical ability. And let’s all face it… generally speaking, men are physically stronger than women anyways.

Your woman character just might have to ask for help in lifting those heavy boxes up the stairs. Or it may even turn out (gasp) that someone else has to rescue them from the evil villain. This does not need to determine their strength as a character—and even if they are female warrior-types, allowing their outward strength to define them is still just poor writing.

So looking at our example in Judges, we see that we aren’t really given a physical description of Deborah. And that works because we’re not focused on that… we know that Deborah is a strong character because of her internal—not external—state. Also notice that it never says that Deborah went to fight in the battle, or even that she led soldiers into the battle. She wasn’t a warrior, but that doesn’t make her character any less strong.

If you have a female character who is muscular, hardened, and ready to fight, just ask yourself a few questions. Why is she strong? Is it because of her physical abilities? Or is it because of who she is inside?

2. Tough is not always emotionless

There’s a popular misconception out there that tough people don’t cry. This is true in a sense—strong characters are not spineless wimps who moan, groan, and whine about anything and everything. Nor are they emotional wrecks who struggle to keep it together.

However, as the Bible says in Ecclesiastes, there is “a time to weep” and “a time to mourn.” While strong characters are generally going to be just that—strong—there will be times for weeping. It’s okay for them to break down over the loss of a loved one, or to have some kind of fear. This does not make them weak.

The idea that strong characters never feel any kind of sorrow or fear is kind of a pet peeve of mine. It’s unrealistic, inaccurate, and—yes—unbiblical. While God does not want us to be falling apart all the time, there will be points in our lives where we are overwhelmed by grief, pain, and sadness. But this is where a truly strong character will lean on God instead of on themselves. Rather than steeling themselves against any emotion or letting their feelings rule their lives, they will give these cares to their Savior, trusting Him through the emotional time.

So in our example from Judges, Deborah is definitely far from emotionless. Now, reading just chapter 4 might give us this impression, since it’s focusing more on what’s happening than what the characters are feeling.

However, in chapter 5, we find that Deborah and Barak break into song. This beautiful piece of poetry is full of emotion. Yet even here, we find an overall tone—not of fear, sorrow, or even bravado—but a simple faith in the Lord. And this is the type of strong character that we should portray in our stories.

So ask yourself… is your female character unrealistically emotionless? Have you succumbed to the lie that tough characters don’t let emotions show? Does this character have any fears? Is she portrayed as a real person with real feelings, or is she just an unemotional machine?

3. Tough is not always masculine

This goes along with the previous points. A woman does not have to act like a man in order to be tough. As I mentioned before, men generally have greater physical strength than women. However, since we’ve already determined that physical strength does not make up internal strength, why then should a woman have to appear externally masculine to be a strong character?

There are plenty of tough women who have retained their femininity, and this is the way it should be. Your female character doesn’t have to be masculine or have a man’s job. In fact, one of the toughest jobs out there is motherhood.

So don’t be afraid to let your strong female character be feminine. Perhaps she falls in love, shows motherly instincts towards her children, or (horror of horrors) likes the color pink. Again, this is not what defines toughness. Internal fortitude makes up a truly strong character—and this goes for men, as well.

In Deborah’s story, we find that, as I said before, she did not try to take over a man’s job. She didn’t fight in the battle, and the Bible never even says that she sought out people to give counsel to as a judge. All it does say is that the people came to her for judgment.

This really says a lot about what one’s testimony can do. There’s no need for being showy… simply live out your life as God would have you do, and you will find that He will bless that. Whether or not His plans include something big and grand such as Deborah’s role as judge, or something seemingly small such as the day-to-day tasks a mother does, a strong character will embrace and thrive in whatever situation they are placed in.

Is your strong female character distinctly feminine? Or does she give the impression of a woman who’s straying from God’s design? Do you allow the presence (or lack) of masculine traits to gauge the strength of a female character?

4. Tough is not always flawless

This can be more of a writer’s subconscious tendency than anything else. We want our female character to look tough, so to have her slip up or make mistakes would show her true, flawed nature. Yet the Bible says that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” So whether she is a Christian or an unbeliever, your female character is going to sin.

Now, a truly strong character would have the right response toward these sins. But in fiction, it sometimes takes a while for them to come around. In a Positive Change Arc, she may spend most of the story wrestling with her flaws. In a Flat Arc, she’ll have flaws, but they won’t necessarily be very evident or emphasized. (We’ll talk more about this balance in our Plots and Character Arcs series.)

So give your female character a problem with pride, or anger, or worry. As I stated before, she will overcome the most major flaws by the end of the story, but they need to be there. Also, they need to be portrayed as wrong throughout the story. Don’t give your audience the impression that these sins are okay.

Deborah’s flaws are not really mentioned in Judges since she is a Flat Arc character. But this doesn’t mean she isn’t dimensional. She’s still portrayed as human, whether or not her flaws are portrayed. And there are many other examples in the Bible of flawed yet strong female characters. If you have time, Rahab and Miriam are two that you should definitely check out.

Looking at your own female character, ask yourself a few questions. Is she portrayed as realistic and human? Does she have any evident flaws? If not, is this because she is a Flat Arc whose flaws are not emphasized, or is it because you think it will affect her strength as a character?

(Note: This point can be applied to all characters, not just strong female characters. There is no such thing as a flawless person this side of Heaven, so make sure you’re portraying all of your characters realistically.)

5. Tough is not always rebellious

I would go so far as to say that a truly strong character will not be rebellious. (When I refer to rebellion during this point, I mean the unruly, disobedient attitude of one who refuses to even regard authority.) It’s very popular today (especially in YA fiction) for the strong female characters to be incredibly rebellious.

I know some people won’t take this well, but God has put authority over every person, whether it be parents, bosses, or government leaders. And the Bible states very plainly that we are to have a respectful and submissive attitude towards these authorities. Now, we are to obey them only in the Lord, which means that we should not obey if we’re told to do something wrong. But there are no excuses for disobedience just because we don’t feel like it or because we have a different opinion.

Again, this is very unpopular today, especially among young people. YA fiction is full of rebellion, breaking boundaries, and going outside of God’s plan. A true strong character is one who will stand up for what’s right, not for what they think they should be allowed to do.

A rebellious attitude in female characters often manifests itself when they disregard authority, such as their parents. They also may take on men’s roles, and their actions will typically be bold, brash, and attention-drawing. This is not the mark of a truly strong character. Rather, it’s the description of someone who gives in to their own desires, opinions, and wishes instead of following the design of the one who created them.

This does not mean that a woman cannot defend herself, cannot have her opinions, and cannot have a voice. In fact, when a truly strong female character humbly obeys God first, she will often find that she’s going against the flow. But she will not do it in a way that seeks to bring herself attention and recognition.

That said, it is possible to have a strong female character who is rebellious. As I said before, every person has flaws. But since rebellion is so often looked upon as good, we as writers should be very careful to portray our characters’ rebellion as a flaw rather than a virtue.

In Deborah’s story, we find that, though she is a judge, she still submits herself to the authority of God. She is also very respectful towards Barak, the leader of the Israelite army. Now, does that mean that she just keeps her mouth shut and lets him do all of the decision-making? Absolutely not.

Instead, what we find is that she tells Barak exactly what God expects him to do. She’s not shy about it, though she is respectful. And when Barak fails to rise to the task set before him, Deborah does exactly what she should do. She doesn’t make him look like a coward in front of his troops (though he kind of does that himself). She doesn’t spin on her heel and say, “Fine, if you won’t lead the army into battle, I’ll do it myself.”

No, she simply aids and encourages him towards embracing his God-given role, which is exactly what a strong female character should do when someone else fails to do their job. (Though, depending on the situation, there may come a point where she’ll need to take over a task that wasn’t originally her own.)

When the battle is over, Deborah doesn’t make some kind of sarcastic remark, say how she was right all along, or boast about how a woman was the one to take down Sisera. Really, the only glimpse we get of Deborah’s reaction is her and Barak’s song in chapter 5.

This is how it should be. No flaunting or boasting or hair-flipping… just praise to God for what He did. Besides, I’m sure Barak didn’t need any sarcastic jabs to get the point (God made that point loud and clear when He delivered Sisera into the hand of a woman).

So ask yourself some more questions about your female character. Is she rebellious towards authority, either in action or attitude? If so, is this rebellion portrayed as right or wrong? Does she seek to get attention or recognition for her accomplishments? Is she constantly pushing the boundaries God and her authorities have set for her?

Before we close—in case you’re thinking that no one ever actually writes a strong female character this way—here are a few examples of some pretty resilient women characters from real-life fiction:

1. Ma Ingalls (“Little House on the Prairie”)

2. Pacarina (“Brothers at Arms”)

3. Mary Bailey (“It’s A Wonderful Life”)

4. Marilyn (“The Redemption of Henry Myers”)

5. Marmee (“Little Women”)

6. Courtney Smith-Donnelly (“Remember the Goal” and “The Perfect Race”)

7. Elizabeth Bennett (“Pride and Prejudice”)

8. Mrs. Hawkins (“Treasure Planet”)

This is really just a sample—there are many more examples I can give—but I hope this will help illustrate how to write a strong female character.

What is one of your favorite strong female characters? Let me know in the comments below, or drop a note on any other thoughts or questions you might have!