They exist. Woman narcs are real. Ask any woman. They know a special bitch beyond any bitch they’ve encountered. They are as bad (if not worse) as any male. They are just better at hiding at what they are.
Ugly. Inside and out. In a nutshell, that’s Maxine. There was a certain pleasure felt when writing such a repulsive character into my book. It was absolutely exquisite. It was a new and wonderful experience. I’d definitely do it again! (and recommend it for other writers to do to achieve a complete creative catharsis)
When it comes to writing novels, male characters fit the ‘ugly’ stereotypes easily. Hand ugly to a man. As long as there’s a redeeming counter-force in his personality, readers don’t usually give Mr Ugly a second thought. He was made that way and it’s okay. Giving ‘ugly’ traits to a female character in modern fiction is risky business. Many of us want to protect femininity. Putting a flawed female upfront defies natural writing logic. Women must be empowered. They should be seen as an uplifting force in a world long fractured by outdated and cruel patriarchy. Vulgar female behaviour doesn’t exist and, if it does, it doesn’t need to be shared inside fiction.
Wrong. It does and it should.
I’ve met vile females. They do exist. Regardless of what society thinks about the matter of bringing the bitch to the page, she is a very real person and one shitty individual. The she-narcissist is out there — and she’s worth mentioning. I wrote Maxine until I birthed her large, rounded ass into life, and then I wrote her some more, until she was dead and buried. As a nod to feminism, I conceded to one thing when writing about this obnoxious super bitch: Her name. When it’s shortened, a male appears in its place. She sounds like a man.
I don’t apologise for creating this royal pain in the butt. I’m just glad to have writing her in the first place — so much fun making and breaking her, using her demise to lead on to a much larger story. Her corpse’s discovery becomes a path origin for readers to walk in a world that, in part, includes contemporary feminism and a freshly damaged masculism. Now, tread slowly and read where it goes. Find out why I set up this female so she could fall so hard.
-Michael Forman (Author – Dark, Adult Fiction)