Why a Girl Protagonist

Why is my protagonist a girl? It’s for a very mechanical reason, actually. That’s something I discovered while writing this first book. Sometimes, it’s all just a puzzle of fitting all the pieces together.

Why is my protagonist a girl?

I come from software development, and I really like software architecture the best. At times, writing this book felt the same way. This, as opposed to some magical stream of thought, that just happens to put everything into place. Maybe that happens for some writers, but not me.

In an earlier blog post I explained how the idea for There’s No Such Thing As Dragons came initially from a game concept.

Had the game been made, the opening scene would have had the two kids getting separated almost immediately. The initial conflict was always with your character’s older brother. However, because it is a game, the player would have been able to choose if they wanted to play as a younger brother, or a younger sister.

Unlike in a game, in a book, a choice had to be made: Since the older brother is a brother, and because I like balance, the protagonist had to be his little sister. That is why the protagonist is a girl.

Speaking of balance, another place I try to be mindful, is spreading key actions between all the main players. I try, and I don't always succeed, to spread around the good/bad ideas, the passivity/initiative, the mistakes, the failures, the wins, and the glory. If someone's getting to big for their britches, I like to knock them down, and if someone has a win, they need to pay for it in some way - perhaps by breaking a finger.

I grew up in the 70s as a normal kid, or what they call today, a "free range" kid. We were basically feral. Back then, girls did girl things, and boys did boy things, but they were basically interchangeable under 10 years old. We'd be out playing and someone's sister would join us, and it made no difference that she was a girl, as long as she could ride downhill fast enough, or scoop up fish from the brook with her bare hands. With Alexandria's age in the book, I think she could be swapped out for a boy pretty easily. Writing a female protagonist any older than her, I wouldn't be to comfortable with, unless I had a co-author. I say that as a hypocrite who's currently planning out the story of Alex's mom without a co-author - okay, so don't listen to anything I say.

If someone wants to make this book into a game someday, maybe I’ll let them change Alex to a boy. Maybe. Probably not. The more I think about it, the less likely it is 😁.

Find out more about Alexandria.

There's No Such Thing as Dragons E-book, Out Now!

Paperback and Hardcover available on October 10, 2025