Guest post by author M.A. Chiappetta
If you look at the
list of fantasy and science fiction authors from the past 50 to 75 years, a
majority of those names belong to men. Take, for example, NPR’s list of Top 100 SFF books—85 of those books were written by men. 85 percent!
As you can guess,
being a female writer in a world once dominated by men is sometimes a strange
place to be. But I wouldn’t change it for anything. I love being a woman who
writes fantasy. And that will never change. It doesn’t matter if it’s hard.
You see, the realm
of speculative fiction—science fiction, fantasy, horror, magical realism—is
filled with possibilities. It’s a place where magic is real…where you can fly
to the moon or Mars. Real-life boundaries like the law of gravity can be bent,
changed, or defied. Anything is possible.
I love that!
As a child, I fell
in love with fantasy (and to a lesser degree, science fiction)—not only because
it introduced me to a view of the world as more wondrous than everyday reality,
but also because it reminded me that despite appearances, anyone could end up a
hero. You could start out as a poor assistant pig-keeper, yet you could grow up
to be High King of Prydain. You could begin as an orphaned girl struggling just
to stay alive and end up a dragonrider and Weyrwoman.
Who wouldn’t want
that?
And so, I write
fantasy now because I remember the enchantment of believing that I could not
only achieve great things, but that I could be heroic doing it. I could do
something good in a world that is often filled with bad things. That’s a
message I believe in sharing.
I do this knowing
that there are a lot of people in the world who have problems with women. There
is still a significant portion of the reading audience that says: “A woman
wrote that? Well, I won’t buy it then. I won’t like it.” It’s a prejudice that
doesn’t make a lot of sense. But it exists.
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| What, some women disagree with the functionality of a chainmail bikini? |
On top of that, there are some ugly stereotypes in the fantasy genre. There’s
the “helpless pretty face”—the woman who can’t rescue herself because rescuing
is a man’s work. There’s the Disney princess—whose life doesn’t have meaning
unless there’s a Prince Charming (a man) around. There’s the chick in
chainmail—the woman who wields a sword but does so in a metal bikini because
she’s nothing more than eye candy. And there’s the “Strong Female
Protagonist”—the girl who is so strong that she never needs anyone’s help.
The truth is that
people are much more complicated than any of those stereotypes.
One of my goals
as a writer is to make sure that all the characters in my stories—male, female,
alien, dragon, other—all reflect the complicated traits that make people both
maddening and lovable. It’s not easy to create characters who defy stereotypes.
But I’m committed to making my character complex, because I think my readers
deserve it. And frankly, so do my characters!
So, every day, I
approach my writing boldly. I wield my pen as if it were a sword, determined to
cut through the stereotypes and prejudices…as well as the self-doubts that
plague all artists…and I go forth to write.
It’s a hero’s
job, in its own way. And I’m glad to do it.
M.A. Chiappetta is
a fantasy writer, copywriter, educator, and blogger with past publications in Blue
Shift, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Chat, and Mensa
Bulletin. Her most recent short stories are found in the anthology, Dark and Dangerous Things II,
available on Amazon. She shares thoughts on writing at Purple Ink Writers and muses
on creativity, SFF, laughter, God, and geekdom at The Chipper Muse. You can also
find her on Twitter as @chippermuse.
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