(This story's kinda weird for me. I was writing it for someone who passed away before I finished it. I didn't think I'd ever show it to anyone else. Be gentle.)

( The Tunnel of Love )

Does anyone have any tips on female characters? I've got a lot of problems with them, because I feel like I've got trouble relating to female characters. Which is strange, because I am a woman, and almost 100% of my friends (and all of my past girlfriends, natch) are women.
When creating women, even characters with very feminine personalities, I feel the need to add in something intangible to make her seem more female. Unfortunately, I don't know what it is that they're lacking. Although I try not to create stereotypical female characters, no matter what personality I give them, they always come off as flat and empty to me. I've twice changed female characters into men out of frustration, and even when I don't change their personalities or backstories I immediately find the men much easier to deal with.
Any help?

Feh, I hate this song. Anyway, it's my latest. crossposted everywhere.

( You Don't Live On Inside of Me )

Name (A first name, or pen name will do): Uesugi - er, you don't have to even try remembering it, I know it's a horrible word for English speakers.
Age: 443...or something. I don't celebrate birthdays, so no idea.
Writing Experience: I've written a handful of songs over the past couple of years. I just started up a webcomic.
Preferred Genres: (Poetry? Fantasy short stories? Non-Fiction?) What I really like to do is write and draw comics (hey, don't turn up your nose, it's become a valid form of artistic expression), but I'll mostly be posting songs here. After I finish college - my dream's to get my Ph.D in history - I want to write some historical novels or comic books, and nonfiction books like a biography of this one 16th century samurai I'm obsessed with, but that probably won't happen.
Education: Got kicked out of school a while back and have been completing high school through a homeschooling program.
Country: Currently America
What do you hope to get from this community? Positive reinforcement, mostly. I write mostly to sorta work through my feelings, especially the stranger ones. I just recently came out of a long period of self-inflicted emotional repression and it was extremely damaging. The very thought of me having feelings...just disturbs me a little bit, even now. So I write to try and get them back, to get comfortable with them, accept that I have them and that they're okay. I think I write because somehow when people tell me they were moved by my stuff, it feels like, "Yeah, it's all right to write about this kind of thing, it's all right to feel that."
Where did you hear of us? A different writing community.