Writerly Non-Sex Kinks M-Type Thing

[dawn_felagund]

Taken from Oshun ...

Name five ‘non-sexual kinks’ you have as a reader/writer: that is, five writing techniques, themes, settings, or character types that really draw you into a story. (If they are different for you as a reader than as a writer, please name both!)

Comments

[dawn_felagund]

Yes, I too like women with and without swords ... I just protest that the "with" version seems (in pop culture anyway) to be the default to satisfying the demand for stronger female characters. Speaking of GRRM, I just mentioned to Oshun up-thread that Brienne is an excellent example of a woman-with-sword that really works for me. (GRRM's writing generally makes me grit my teeth, but I look forward to Brienne's chapter and also love how she's been handled on the show.) She doesn't simply pick up a sword and own the world. That decision has consequences for her in a society with traditional female gender roles, and Brienne often feels to me like a character who just can't win. As a woman-with-sword, she is comfortable in her own skin ... and mocked. As a woman-trying-to-be-a-lady, she is uncomfortable ... and still mocked.

I like your example of Sansa. I see so much Sansa hate out there, but she is a young girl (despite the actress being much older than the character) in a dangerous place and utterly without friends. That she has survived as long as she has when much of her family has not speaks to a resourcefulness and strength that also makes her a character I find so interesting. (Actually, for all my griping about GRRM's books, I do love his woman characters and generally suffer through the chapters from a male PoV while generally enjoying those from a female PoV. I had never realized that before ...)