Research Resource -- Heroines

Research Resource -- Heroines
By
Sandra Chevalier-Batik

This is the fifth in a series of articles exploring on-line sources and search strategies for writers. This month, romantic heroine resources are featured.

What Makes A Memorable Heroine?

Who is your favorite heroine? All of us have one. Mine is Jocelyn in Elizabeth Stuart's Bride of the Lion. She is resourceful, loyal, brave, has unflinching integrity, and can prepare a castle for siege like nobody's business. What a skill set!

Think about that favorite heroine of yours for a moment. What keeps her in your heart? Is it the visual image the author impressed upon you - how her character is revealed to you? Answer those questions and you are well on your way to developing your own memorable heroines of our heart.

Find it on-line

http://www.loggia.com/myth/myth.html - The Mythography site explores mythology and art and features information about the classic stories of heroines and goddesses from the myths of ancient Greece and Rome; to the legends of the Celts. The site also presents resources and reference materials about mythology - including recommended books and lexicons that explain Greek, Roman, and Celtic terms and words.

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/index.html - Want the real skinny on just how your heroine would handle the "Medieval Thing"? The Online Medieval and Classical Library (OMACL) is a "Digital Scriptorium" of some of the most important literary works of medieval civilization. In addition to full text translation of most of the classic medieval reference texts, there are numerous links to additional on-line medieval resources. Unless otherwise noted, all texts are public domain in the United States.

http://www.women-in-aviation.com/Featured_Women - Women in Aviation is a wonderfully, inspiring resource if you are looking for your next non-traditional heroine. This great site shares incredible insights about women's place in aviation history and their current contributions. From Bessie Coleman, who in 1921,earned her license from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, two years before Amelia Earhart and at the time, the only licensed black pilot in the world; to the Women in U.S. Military, their combat zone deployment, and their performance during Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

http://www.DistinguishedWomen.com - Danuta Bois' site, Distinguished Women of Past and Present is an inspiration. If you need help kicking in those creative juices, this is the place. This site has biographies of women who contributed to our culture in many different ways. There are writers, educators, scientists, heads of state, politicians, civil rights crusaders, artists, entertainers, and others. Some were living hundreds of years ago and some are active today. We've heard of some of them, while many more have been ignored by history book writers. This site is a work in progress that invites contributions from readers.

http://www.imow.org/ - The purpose of the International Museum of Women site is to celebrate and examine women's roles in shaping our world throughout the centuries.

http://www.womenofthewildwest.com - Women of the Wild West. So, you have decided to write your first western and are curious as to what today's real cowgirls wear. Check out this great on-line outfitter for loads of great ideas. You might be tempered to order a little something for your self - inspiration, don't you know.

http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist5/foremoms.html - Recognizing that pioneer woman of California have never been properly honored, the Museum of the City of San Francisco has dedicated a section of their site to the dear foremothers of our west. It has been noted that there is nowhere, in all this country, a monument to the foremothers of the land. Certainly, the Puritan foremothers are deserving of honor, since they not only had to endure the hardships and privations of a new country, but were obligated to endure the forefathers, too. The site offers wonderful first-hand accounts of the woman's view of the early west.

http://www.archivefilms.com/photo/index.html - The Archive Photos library is one of the largest and most comprehensive historical photo still libraries in the world, with more than 20,000,000 photographs, engravings and drawings representing nearly every subject from the beginning of civilization to the present day. The extensive news photo files cover all major worldwide 20th Century (and some 19th Century) events including wars, politics, celebrities and famous personalities, entertainment, the arts, sports, etc.

http://www.ehow.com/eHow/eHow/0,1053,16762,00.html - eHow to Develop a Romance Heroine by Gary Presley and Sheri McGregor "In my opinion, the heroine can be more difficult to develop than the hero. Choose someone who will complement yet conflict with the hero - and I don't mean physically. I mean her motivations, dreams, sorrows, etc.," says Sheri McGregor, author of "Dream Catcher."

Retro-search

Sources you can touch, index with sticky tabs, and mark with highlighters:

Great Dames : What I Learned from Older Women - Marie Brenner, Crown Publications; ISBN: 0609606123. Marie Benner introduces us to a pantheon of women whose lives are both gloriously individual and yet somehow universal. They are ten outstanding women of the twentieth century. They were mighty warriors and social leaders; women of aspirations who persevered. They lived through the Great Depression and a world war. Circumstances did not defeat them. They played on Broadway and in Washington. They had glamour, style, and intelligence. They dressed up the world.

Fearless Girls, Wise Women, and Beloved Sisters: Heroines in Folktales from Around the World - Kathleen Ragan; W W Norton & Co; ISBN: 0393045986. This jewel of an anthology is the definitive sourcebook of folktales and fairytales and the first of its kind to feature a variety of multicultural heroines. Kathleen Ragan was troubled by the scarcity of female protagonists of any kind in children's books, let alone strong, smart, and resourceful heroines. She set out to collect the stories of our forgotten heroines: courageous mothers, clever young girls, and warrior women who save villages from monsters, rule wisely over kingdoms, and outwit judges, kings, and tigers. Ragan has enriched the word heroine. To read these stories is like taking a trip around the world and in each new country being invited to sit down by the fire and listen to what makes the local hearts beat and to feel the resonance of our common humanity.

Writing Great Characters: The Psychology of Character Development in Screenplays - Michael Halperin, Ph.D Lone Eagle Publishing Company; ISBN: 0943728797. The author has developed an easy to understand, logical system, which gives all screenwriters a fail-proof method of developing great characters. This valuable book identifies and solves a major problem for writers: creating characters, who are so real they literally, jump off the page. Halperin has developed an easy to understand, logical system, which gives all screenwriters a foolproof and fail-proof method of developing great characters.

Save yourself some typing. These, as well as other sources not listed here are located on my web site:
http://www.pleiadespublishing.com/reseach/heroes/html

Sandra Chevalier-Batik is senior researcher and technical writer for Pleiades Publishing Services. She develops content and information design for web sites and corporate communications.