Favorite & Least Favorite Female Protagonists

I was going to grace you all with another adventure of WEIRDO THE ALIEN, but alas I didn't have the time today. Perhaps next week. I think he may be visiting the world of Harry Potter in the next episode *snicker*. I'm open to suggestions, of course!

As I'm writing my novel with a female protagonist, I thought it would be beneficial to look at some of my favorites (and least favorites). What about her personality makes her a strong character? What makes her so likeable? Why do I relate to this person? Below are some of my favorite protagonists (in no particular order; please add your own in the comments section!). Most of these books I have read relatively recently and they are semi-fresh in my mind.

1. Evie from Paranormalcy - Evie is a tough, snarky, witty teenager who also is caring, brave and passionate. She fights for her friends and risks her life even when there is something evil on the loose. Plus I love how sure she is of herself. Teenage girls can look to Evie as a role model (minus the whole vampire-tasing thing).
2. Tiffany Aching from the Discworld series - I've only read two books out of the BAZILLION in Terry Pratchett's series. In THE WEE FREE MEN (which I know I've mentioned several times - sorry), Tiffany is a young girl who learns that she may be a witch. She gets involved in a magical world of monsters and tiny blue men who love to drink and fight and kick. I love Tiffany because she doesn't take any crap from anyone. She's tough, smart, logical and follows her dreams. She doesn't let anyone pull the wool over her eyes. And she's not even a teenager yet!
3. Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series - She is incredibly smart and talented, brave because it's important to keep fighting, loyal to her friends, and keeps a strong head on her shoulders. She can be emotional at times, but she's a teenage girl for cripes sake! Growing up isn't easy, especially when you're fighting the darkest wizard of all time. I love her optimism and how she is the one who keeps Harry moving forward. I'm not a big fan of how she let Harry and Ron cheat off her work all the time, but Harry had a lot on his mind (Ron was a bit of a mook, though I love him too!).
4. Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter series - She isn't a main character, but I just love her. She's so funny and starry eyed but also passionate and loyal. She dances to her own music, never letting anyone or anything get her down, even when the other kids steal all her shoes. She always sees the good side, the silver lining. Plus she's incredibly brave (or maybe she just doesn't realize the danger of some situations).

Here are some female protagonists that are my least favorite, though I still enjoyed the books very much:

1. Bella Swan from the Twilight series - I think many people will agree that Bella is a whiney mess most of the time. She's so obsessed with Edward that she alienates herself from her father and her new friends. She has an unnatural passion for Edward and I find it hard to believe. Though, I am a big fan of the books and movies. I'm not sure the exact reason why I like these stories so much, because it's certainly not Bella. I can't relate to her. I think I relate to Jacob better. Maybe it's just the excitement of being in love with a vampire and all the danger that comes with it, plus the werewolves are cool.
2. Elana Gilbert from the Vampire Diaries - I liked these books too (and I swear I'm not trying to bash the vampire girls), but Elana is WAY too perfect. She's all blonde and popular and gorgeous, plus she gets the dreamy guy and has awesome friends. And to top it off, she has a heart of gold. Barf! Again, I loved reading these books but more for the storyline than for the characters. Damon is probably my favorite, and I don't normally like the bad boys!
3. Mistaya Holiday from A Princess of Landover - The Landover series is fun. In case you haven't heard of it, it's about a man who buys a magical kingdom out of a fancy mail-order catalog. He doesn't think it could possibly be real, but he takes a chance and finds out is IS real and he is now the king. The book about Mistaya is several books later after Ben (the king) has a daughter. Mistaya is a selfish brat. Granted, she's a teenager and many teenagers are brats, but Mistaya doesn't seem to become a better person in this book. She does a tiny, tiny bit. But I still wasn't really rooting for her at the end. I still liked the book though.

So what do the good/bad characters have in common? For the good, they all seem to be pretty comfortable in their own skin and fight for what's right. They all have their flaws, of course, but that makes them more down-to-earth. From my least favorite list, all of these characters are not relatable. I have a hard time rooting for someone who's super moody, or is too perfect, or has everything and is still a jerk.

What are some of your favorite female protagonists? What about them make them stand out in your mind?

I Heart Geeks

I'm coming to a point in my WiP when I need to introduce the love interest, and I can't bring myself to make the "dream guy" be someone I wouldn't be attracted to. I like a nice guy whose a bit of a geek, always have. Hubs is a bit of a geek. I'm DEFINITELY a geek.

I knew there was a difference between and nerd and a geek. But until I looked up the terms on Dictionary.com, I thought it was much better to be a nerd than a geek. For some reason, most of the T-shirts say "I Heart Nerds" and "Nerds Are Cool". So why are geeks getting the shaft? Maybe Best Buy is on to something with their Geek Squad.

nerd 

[nurd]

–noun Slang .

1.

a stupid, irritating, ineffectual, or unattractive person.

2.

an intelligent but single-minded person obsessed with a nonsocial hobby or pursuit: a computer nerd.

geek 

[geek]

–noun Slang .

1.

a computer expert or enthusiast (a term of pride as self-reference, but often considered offensive when used by outsiders.)

2.

a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, especially one who is perceived to be overly intellectual.

3.

a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, as biting off the head of a live chicken.

Take these two definitions (ignore the carnival performer who bites off chicken heads - not sure why that's in there). Based on these, a nerd is like a Napoleon Dynamite - a bit of a weirdo and a social outcast, who talks about ligers and puts tater tots in his pocket. A geek is like Bill Gates - a bit awkward and maybe not the most exciting, but is a smart guy. Both might not (OK definitely not) have rugged good looks, but it's the geek who has the brains and basically more to offer a leading lady. Combine those brains with the "nice guy" factor and a sweet smile, and I'm butter. I want my MC to turn into butter too, so I figure I should write what I know. It wouldn't feel real if she fell for a bad boy or a hunky model. He has to have that nerd/geek factor.

To illustrate, here are some of the famous geeks who have all of those factors: geeky, sweet, a bit awkward, romantic and nice smile. Because I don't know what these actors are like in real life, I'm basing my descriptions on their characters and their looks:

Peter Parker in Spiderman - so smart and attractive, especially when he first gets his muscles. Yowza! Plus he's super sweet and not afraid to wear his emotions on his - um - spidey suit. And he's a super hero! How can you get any better than that? It's funny because people say Hubs looks just like him, so there you go.

Jim Halpert from The Office (which I happened to be watching as I wrote this blog post). He has that goofy smile and great sense of humor. Plus, he's a closet romantic and much smarter than he lets on. He's maybe not as geeky as Peter Parker, but he has the geek look for sure.

Mac guy from the Mac vs. PC commercials. He too has that geeky look and funny smirk. And he's obviously smarter than the goofy PC guy (though personally I like PCs, oh well). He also has a charm that's difficult to define, but definitely there. Justin Long has these factors in other roles he plays too.

And last but certainly not least, Chuck Bartowski from the NBC show Chuck. He has it all: the goofy, awkward smile, romantic and not afraid to show it, super sweet and he has a freakin' computer in his head. Plus he wears Chuck Taylor shoes, ha ha. Before he was the intersect he was still brilliant, even though he worked at the Buy More. But now he's a spy! Super cool and also super geeky. Though he lost some of the charm when he cut his hair because he doesn't look quite as geeky (I almost put nerdy, whoops).

All of these guys wouldn't be considered "dreamboats" in any sense, but I am much more attracted to them than some model type with tan muscles. I guess it's the emotional attraction being more powerful than the physical because I know that a geeky guy is more likely to be a good partner.

When you create a love interest, do you make him/her someone you would be attracted to? (Assuming the love interest is the gender you are attracted to.) Have you ever written a love interest you weren't attracted to, and did it feel real? What characteristics are you attracted to? Do you think it's better to be a geek or a nerd, or does it matter?