The SSIFL, and Why She's Annoying

The SSIFL, And Why She’s Annoying

(Written with help from Katie Walch)

I may not be the only voice on the internet giving tips, ideas, and advice for writing--there are other people out there who have words of wisdom as well. But in all of my years of writing and looking at other peoples’ advice, I have never once stumbled across a blog post about the SSIFL (Not to say that it doesn’t exist, but I haven’t found it f it does).

The SSIFL is my given acronym for the Sexy Sassy Independent Female Lead, generally with the subtitle ‘who doesn’t take crap from anyone”. Yes, there is the idea of Feminism, and I do believe that girls can do most of the same things that boys can. But there also exists something called Overcompensation. I cannot tell you how many times I have picked up a book that actually looked fairly good for contemporary fiction, got excited about the book jacket, then opened to the first page, and immediately put it back on the shelf.

Why?

The voice of the main character.

There is a certain type of female lead which seems to be carbon copied into almost every book written within the last few years. This is not due to people stealing other’s ideas, but more about the fact that as a whole, our society has developed a certain voice. We talk a way, and expect others to do the same. This is why older books sound more fancy, more formal. In that time, that was the colloquial way of speaking, at least for the more educated (It holds true today--the way I speak with my friends is very different from the way others do. But I digress). Nowadays, people speak a certain way, which then translates into writing that way.

Are they stealing characters? No. Are they being uncreative? Absolutely.

I won’t beat around the bush in saying that you are being uncreative, because the first step to fixing a problem is identifying it. Below is a list of traits that the SSIFL commonly has to help you see if you are guilty of this expedient narrator choice.

-The manuscript is likely in first person (Which is not a bad thing, but I’ve never seen an SSIFL in third)

-She always has a witty remark when the plot calls for something funny that feels awkward and somewhat out of character

-Her character ‘flaw’ is something usually connected to Angst/Tragic Backstory

-The ‘I don’t need no man!’ idea....which connects straight into a love interest or love triangle (which in and of itself is a sin, but that will be covered next week)

-Intense moments of second hand embarrassment for and because of this girl

-Character Breaks. Everywhere.

-They are over dramatic or take themselves too seriously

-They likely have some major insecurity that aforementioned love interest(s) need to shore up in order for her to continue with her quest

-Is she leading the rebellion to take down the government? 100% guaranteed, your character is an SSIFL. No arguments. I have read many books. Never has the above statement been contradicted

-She and the love interest(s) are the only cool ones. Everyone is background noise

-The voice feels disconnected , and not empathetic.

-Whenever they fight or something, they always look good while doing it (Because who needs protective armor?)

-They sound like a stereotypical ‘stereotype’ teenager.

-They only have a few interests outside of the main plot
Or, just look at this nifty post that pretty much sums up bad YA novels.

Basically, if this sounds like your book...your character is an SSIFL.

Now, before you get pissy and try to tell me how you are special because it is your book and how dare I try to criticize your precious baby, stop. I say this not to offend you, but fix a problem I and many others feel degrades the quality of contemporary literature. Yes, on very rare occasions, the SSIFL is a good choice for your book’s protagonist, but if people used her as sparingly as they ought to, this blog post wouldn’t exist. This is a real problem. It’s annoying. Trust me, we’ve all done it at some point or another, because that is what we are exposed to. I’m beginning to feel like people write with this character because they know nothing else. That’s just how it’s done right?

Wrong.

There is another way.

Remember how I said that the SSIFL was uncreative? We’re going to talk about that again, but with the context of fixing the problem. Yes, that’s right ladies, gentlemen, and variations thereupon: I not only criticize authors, I find ways to help them.

In this case, the solution is simple.

Re-Write your book with a changed narrative voice.

Don’t give me that groaning, you were going to have to do it anyway. So shut up and listen.

One of the things that makes me love a character is if they have something to fight for beyond the main plot and love subplot. Kaladin, from Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings is a rich, developed character, because he fights not only for justice, but with the idea that he might actually be able to change something. He gets discouraged quite often in this endeavor, but always manages to see that in the end, he is doing something worthwhile. It’s more than drive--it’s his reason for living, literally (He was about to kill himself when he finally realized this).

Your SSIFL character needs something to fight for. Not a tragic backstory, please no. They have their place, but that should not be their ultimate motive. No, their idea is the core belief they take into every emotional. spiritual, and physical battle that they ever have, and it’s different for everyone.

Analogously, think of it this way. Every person that you see on a daily basis has their own sense of conscious existence. It’s a hard concept to grasp. Imagine that another person you met had the exact same life as you, the same problems, the same hardships, and were in the same phase of it as you, and you were actively aware of it--would it change how you viewed and treated them? Of course. Now, recognize that they not only have problems, but that the things they are going through are just as valid and difficult as yours. We understand ourselves better than anyone else ever could. Think about what motivates you to wake up every morning and run the rat race, be it simply going through the motions to get to that brighter day, or the conviction that today is going to be a good one.

Now think of a good reason, which could be your own, and give that to your main character.

Friendships and loyalty to others personally drives me--I can’t wait to tell them my problems, hear theirs, exchange a joke and try to forget that life is giving each and every one of us a waking nightmare. I take the knowledge that I have other people who care about me into the field of battle every day as I go against problems that I know I will have to live with every day for the rest of my life.

Deep, right?

I'm a real person. But your character can have that same depth. All they need is purpose beyond bringing down the tyrannical government.

It’s so easy to forget that characters are real people too. We construct a basic scaffolding, and everything else develops from there. If we build the rafters and catwalks for a strong, real person, with their own mind, their own problems, their own things that they fight through and win, the idea of an SSIFL is completely obsolete, because they won’t exist. The main problem with her is that she’s empty--she has no real substance, because we don’t want our characters to be as real as people. It’s instinctual to skim over problems, but problems make us who we are, and so problems will make your character who she is.

In the end, I can promise you that your entire book will benefit from having a character who is real, and not simply a copy of society’s voice--without the flaws.

Who We Are; Why We Are

When I say to someone “Oh, I’m an author,” the reactions are quite varied. Some nod their head, impressed, others give me less than a parting glance. On few glorious occasions, their face will brighten up and they will reply with “Really? Me too!” Yet there is at least a 50% chance that they will say “I have a story I started writing once,” or even more frequently, “Yes, I’ve had a few story ideas myself that I never wrote down.”

To others, writing might seem like a pastime, a hobby. But for those of us who do or intend to write for a living understand that writing is not mere pleasure activity--it is life. I’ve often said to peers and relatives that if I didn’t write, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. I am always thinking of my next or current story, looking up inspiration and writing tips. It has encompassed everything that I do in that the thought of writing is never far from my mind. I know that many of you can relate.

So who are we, we mysterious sect of authors? There’s something that defines mere writing from the ultimate path down to authorship. I would say that it is the way that we see the world. Others might look past the large concrete building housing the software company; authors see it and think ‘What if that company was actually trying to produce an Artificial Intelligence unit?” A simple outing to a ‘normal’ person would be filed away as scenes to be used for later. Interesting or beautiful people become characters. Forests and parks become entire worlds for which one person’s fantasy can play out. Beth Revis sums it up quite well: “My inspiration tends to come from two words. The two most important words to a writer: What if?”

So who are we, the strange creatures known as authors? We are the creator of worlds, worlds where we can do anything we wish. We are the speakers of our soul, and we share these pieces of ourselves with others so that they might learn to live their lives better. We are the mothers and fathers of a generation that exist only in ink and paper. We have laughed with them, cried with them, borne their burdens with them. We have loved them. We have grieved the lives of a thousand men, lived the days of ten thousand. We are a legion of people, a single person, a hero, a villain, a savior, a friend.

In the end, we are dreamers.

That is all we need be.

But why?

Why do I write?

I might answer this question with one of my own: “Why do you breathe? Why does your heart beat?”

“I must,” You reply. “Or I will die.”

“So I write, or surely I will die.” I frown. “Of course, it goes much deeper than that. Why do you believe in things, be it God, yourself, science, or the words of some old eccentric who seems to understand life better than you?”

“Well...” You reply. “I must. Or I will cease to find purpose in my existence.”

I smile. “So I write--that I may find purpose in mine. Yet it goes far deeper than even that. Ask yourself: Why do you imagine or dream? Why does so much of your life fall to wistful fancies and impossible desires?”

You begin to grow rather frustrated. “I dream because that is who I am. If I did not, I would be denying myself.”

“So I write, that I may not deny myself.” I pause a moment before continuing. “And yet...why do you laugh? Why do you cry? Why do you continue day to day, caught up in the world of life, in the beautiful, horrible, insane tumult of life only to wake the next day and continue, and still find joy in it?”

“It is my soul!” You shout. “I do everything you have mentioned because if I do not do these things, I will die. I do them so that I may live!”

My smile deepens. “Writing is my soul. It is everything I am, everything I could be, stretching from the beginning of time to the end of the eternities. I write, not only so that I may not die.” I point a finger to your chest. “I write that through reading my writing, through living through my own soul that I give to the world, you my friend, may thrive in a way you never could have alone.

And only then, may I truly live.”

Being an author is more than simply putting pen to paper. It is almost a second living conscience--any good author will tell you that stories write themselves. So let it be your soul. It is truly who we are, and why we are.

-Mackenzie Seidel