Writers out there - what about genders?

[Lhundulinwen]

Very nice post, Nurumaiel. I agree that all women (all characters, in fact) should be warriors in that sense. Actually, a lot of fantasy, excluding LOTR, do not have that many battle scenes. The characters you were talking about, seem to have a lot of opportunity to grow, and learn more about themselves and their world.
At least for me, to develop characters, you must have a strong plot generally with more than one problem. These characters have several potential problems they may have to deal with. For my characters to develop strongly, I generally make a mental list of all their flaws, physical, emotional and in relationships, and pick and choose which ones will be changed, or come to terms with, by the ending. I never change all their flaws, and sometimes I encourage them to make new ones, especailly if this character has been around a while (like in a series). All these changes I space out in the story, with some happening as a result of something and others gradually as the character matures.