Ever have someone tell you that your female main character doesn’t have enough backbone? That she’s codependent, an enabler, even whiny? Yeah, me too. Ouch. Yet we can’t leave poor Pauline tied to the tracks. Your reader must not only identify with her, but must believe that she has well-defined goals and the gumption to attain them. I see many novels about women in mid-life crises whose authors want to start off their protagonists wishy-washy and build them up gradually. The reason this seldom works is that readers are not willing to wade through navel-gazing rumination or milquetoast actions long enough to see the character evolve. Remember Kim Darby, the tomboy in the 1969 John Wayne movie “True Grit?” She had to prove she had spunk right from the start. So does your female protagonist.
Writing Tip for Today: Why would anyone diagnose your protagonist as weak? Ask yourself these questions:

• Are her goals high enough?
• Does she have a burning desire, or just a sorta-kinda desire?
• Is she constantly in tension with her obstacles?
• Does she allow the circumstances to roll over her while she is helpless?
• Are other characters solving her problems?
• Does she have courage?

If you answer “yes” to any of those questions, consider changing your heroine from a victim to a character who makes things happen. Many times too much introspection and not enough action are clues that change is needed. If you see large blocks of interior narrative or static description, if your work is heavy on flashbacks and light on real time, you may have a wimpy protagonist. Untie Pauline from the tracks of Wimpdom and get her moving before the freight train flattens her.