Writing a novel is one thing. Turning it into a movie script is another thing entirely. Today I met with a script writer who is interested in turning The Genesis Flaw into a movie. All very exciting, especially as the novel doesn’t go on sale for another few months. And it’s strange how the writing community is so inter-connected. This particular script writer heard about The Genesis Flaw though a mention on The Writers’ Studio’s website. It was at The Writers’ Studio that I first became inspired to write thrillers.

In this meeting, we discussed how rare, still, are female central characters in thrillers. I’ve noticed that over the last ten years, as more female crime writers have emerged, some magnificent female detective and forensic characters have appeared. How wonderful is Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpatta character? And some amazing, feisty leading females have powered across the pages of thrillers like John Grisham’s The Pelican Brief. But female characters in thrillers still often play the supporting role, such as Dan Brown’s recent mysteries. Steig Larsson’s trilogy breaks the mould here: what a complex, unexpected and intriguing heroine is Lisbeth Salander!

Creating a female protagonists isn’t easy. She has to be tough and resilient enough to survive all the horrors thrown at her. She must be courageous and steadfast, and able to draw on talents that equip her to win the final “battle”. But there is a fine line between creating a female character who endures more than we could, and not making her appear a heartless bitch who rides rough-shod over others to achieve her goal. Making her sympathetic and showing her vulnerabilities, I believe, is essential. If you understand what drives her to place herself in such danger, then, as a reader, you empathise and want to go along for the ride. In the case of Serena Swift, her motivation to action is not only the death of her father but the guilt she carries around that she not only missed his death but never went after those she believed responsible.

I’d be interested to here from you on what you think makes a good female central character?