Would you find a middle aged woman who is an expert swordfighter as a main character in a fantasy novel interesting?

[Still-alive]

I think I've told a few people on here that im attempting to write my own books. It will be an epic medieval fantasy setting and i am fleshing out a few of the main characters im thinking about putting in the story.

the main main character though i got a middle aged woman who is a master at fighting with a sword. Her name is Charlotte and she lives in an internment camp among other human beings who in my story are a bit rare.

some other traits about her i got so far:

- she has no children not due to any illness or bad health but because she simply decided she doesn’t want to. She decided child rearing wasn’t for her.

- her father who was a war hero and taught her everything about being a fighter has been missing for a long time.

- she has a positive upbeat attitude towards life despite living in an internment camp.

Thats about it so far. I originally had her as a make character and younger but i dunno i find this a bit more interesting a d not something you likely see in fantasy or any story really. I like the challenge in any case. What would make a middle aged woman give up an established life and go on an adventure? I find it thought provoking.

would you find this character interesting?

maybe something like Brianne of Tarth from Game of Thrones

Yes

No

Depends on how she’s written

Other opinion (state yours)

Updates

3 mo

I may update some here the more progress i make in writing the character but im already feling quite confident she is gonna be my main character!

[Apulu_backagain]

That's what I am saying! Start including middle aged women with white viking or indigenious tribal vibes in fighting roles! It will give the story more texture as you can have her backstory given she is older and more experienced. I am tired of reading novels with sexy young ladies in 20s who randomly started being fightin machines from the age of 15 or 17 and walk like silent cats and are romantically involved with guys twice their age and wear black leather suit all the hecking time. It is too overwhelming and unrealistic and wattpady.

[queenofcardio]

She definitely sounds like main character material. I'm interested in knowing what happened to her father and what caused his disappearance. I love that she has a positive attitude despite her hardships because it's inspiring.

Im interested in knowing if someone else will accompany her on her journey towards self-discovery.

As a reader , Ideally I want to be be hooked right away. I like novels that have exciting and or shocking moments within the first couple of chapters.

Sounds good so far !

[Still-alive]

Alright cool! As soon as i thought of this it definitely got me excited lol. I see a lot of potential here

[queenofcardio]

I'm so excited for you. Wishing you all the best.. Let me know if you need a sounding board

[bobalife]

I think so. I like an independent woman leading her own destiny than just the traditional role. Sounds like her dad plays a big role to her chosen pathway and character, right? Maybe it can also influence her journey on what she’s hoping to find, mission, values, and what not :) does she need to avenge for her dad who fought in the war? Did he died? What will be her character growth? What does she want to impact as a woman who will take action?

[Still-alive]

Lets see i think ill have her trying to find out what happened to him and there might be a dark reason for his absence. And through this process she finds her own way becoming a hero in her own right.

She might end up being some kind of a ‘chosen one’ who slays the great evil of the world

[Still-alive]

She’ll have flaws of course. I want my characters to feel relatable and 3 dimensional. And ill have here be some kind of a contrast to the main villain of the story im writing.

[purplepoppy]

Since she's called Charlotte we can assume the story is set in the 14th century at the earliest (considered by many to be the worst time in human history). I think it would be more plausible that her children and husband had died.

Swords were incredibly expensive which would make her part of the upper classes so how did she end up interred. I would assume she wasn't allowed to keep her swords

[AngryCarl3]

I feel like starting out with your main character in middle age is a bit of an odd decision, because by the time we get to middle age the best part of our life is already behind us. Unless you want to tell her story in flashback, as Patrick Rothfuss famously did in The Name of the Wind.

Or you could introduce other major characters who can learn from our heroine's experience and wisdom, making her a Gandalf-like figure (but not necessarily with the Gandalf powers).

[Twalli]

If you're a good writer, you can make an investment banker seem interesting. If you're a a bad writer, you can make the most interesting and in-depth characters seem boring. Stephanie Meyer had good characters. She could have done a lot with them. Yet she's not that good of a writer. She squandered the characters she came up with. Then we look at the less amazing characters that John Grishman comes up with. He makes them come to life better than Meyer because he's a better writer.

[Rei13]

I’d be curious to see how your story grows. One of my favorite characters in a fantasy trilogy is a middle-aged woman. She does have a son but is a complete badass.

[andreasderjuengere]

Only if she's fighting in a Beach Volleyball costume (the established stereotype).
For contemporary correctness, you should also add some LBT ABC details, and of course she needs to represent one other minority.

[andreasderjuengere]

Hey, that gives me an idea... what about making it a 'Fantasy' COMEDY...
I will not write myself. But I have visions 😇 - I'd like to see stories with new ideas. Cool would be if the "hero" gets slain half through the story, and now the reader needs to adjust to this twist? ...
Or like Heinlein (yeah, not 'Fantasy') to break with etiquette and mainstream garbage.
Do 'Fantasy' figures always need to travel? Do they need to ignore inventions and only can wield knives and swords and forks? Do they have to imitate a brute lifestyle with murder, a 'cause' or a motive?

[MisterWack]

Yes, that would be a unique experience.

Although she would have to be well written.

[douride2]

Sounds plausible. After all they put out loads of movies & shows where some old guy always gets to sleep with the young woman.

[fonduegirl]

Why wouldn't I? Warrior is warrior

[fonduegirl]

It can actually solve the gooner discourse. Instead of giving us masculine female players, why not she up?

[Still-alive]

She'll have some outpouring of emotional moments if thats what you mean by 'she up'. she won't be a cliched 'femme fatale' either at least thats not what im aiming for with her.

[fonduegirl]

*age up