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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/44432
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In [How to write strong female characters](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/3539/how-do-you-develop-a-strong-female-character), Standback says that the best way to write a strong female character is to make her uniquely female, the type of character that can not possibly be male and isn't a stereotype.

Lately I have found the opposite problem. In the first draft of my last fiction piece, 75% of the characters were female. Making characters female has become an easy trick for me to make them feel unique. Every variation of a male military commander seems to have been done. A female commander leading her own battalion seems more interesting.

How can I apply the lessons learned from writing strong female characters to male characters?

Of course one solution is to simply write stories with no male characters, but that's not always what I want to do.

(If it matters for the answer, I myself am male.)

Original score: 23