I've been curious about this for a while now actually so ... More often than not I find myself writing a narrative from the perspective of a a teenage girl and, seeing as how I am actually a guy - I got me thinking: is strange that I should find it easier to tell a story from the POV of a female or is it actually pretty commonplace to do so? Thoughts on this would appreciated. As well as any anecdotes about your own adventures in writing from the perspective of the opposite sex.
Eh. Writing from the perspective of another gender isn't any different or worse than writing from the perspective of a character with a different personality, nationality, age or whatever else from you. It's just a matter of getting in character ... usually I'd imagine this would be easier the closer the character was to you (so gender would make it slightly more challenging) but at the same time you might just particularly enjoy writing as a particular character type, or of stories that involve them. I wouldn't worry about it. Most of the protagonists I've written have been male, but I've written from female perspectives occasionally ... although pretty much all those were either comedy, poetry or multiple POV works. I've probably just stuck with younger, male protagonists subconsciously through familiarity.
I wouldn't dare to try and write from a male's point of view; I have absolutely no idea what goes on in you guys' heads and so couldn't even begin to put what I *think* men think onto paper...my husband would probably behead me for getting it so wrong! Not that I struggle getting into character; I just don't understand male thinking in the slightest xxx
It's not odd for you. It could be only odd to read the character. Make sure it sounds like a female (to me, they're a mistery) and the reader wouldn't think about the gender of the writer.
Personally, I write from both perspectives...however, I prefer to write from a male perspective (despite being female myself). I think that the differences between men and women are hyped up by society...we all have feelings and thoughts, the only difference between us (besides anatomy) is in the way we're allowed/required to express them. At least, that's how I feel. ~Lynn
I agree. The differences between genders are dwarfed by the differences between individuals. Most of the gender mind difference is socializarion. Men are from Mars, women are from Venus is pulled from Uranus.
Take it from me, a fellah' who's married to a fellah', there are differences in motivation, but they are less than we would like them to be. Being a gay guy means having a free pass into Girl World (it also means having a backstage pass to Guy Land, but more on that later.) Women speak and relate to me in ways that are different than the dynamic which exists between them and str8 men, and even them and other women. Don't get me wrong, there are marked differences, but most of them are cultural and not truly indigenous to the individual of either gender, thus they seem to exist outside of us, but somehow not within us. Now, the backstage pass to Guy Land was an unexpected bonus that I received only as I got older and my str8 guy friends started to relax about their own machismo and became more confident in themselves. They started to open up to me and speak to me in ways they would never have demonstrated to their other guy friends or to women. More conversations than I can count have ended with, "Please don't ever tell anyone I told you these things, I just feel like I can trust you..." People are people. We all have feelings, ambitions, goals, dreams, anxieties, good days, crap days, and everything else. Cultural pretexts determine what we are allowed to admit given our gender, but the entire package exists within each of us.
I know I've already said I don't know how men think, but from my experience and articles I've read, its the way they think which is different to womens; not what they think about. I can think of plenty of examples, but don't want to end up offending somebody with male/female stereotypes. Theres also the age old conversation between me & my hubby which goes like this: Me: What are you thinking? Him: Nothing. Me: You can't be thinking nothing, you've got to be thinking about something Him: Really, I wasn't thinking about anything. My brain was blank! Don't you ever do that? Me: No. I'm always thinking about something, even if it's not something important. Him: That's weird. Me: You're weird. What are you thinking now? We have this conversation allllll the time, & it never ceases to amaze me that he can sit and think about nothing. Or think about what it would be like to be a spy. Or wonder how many situps he can do in a minute. I never think about things like that, and after checking with my friends, neither do they. But he & his friends do. Boggles my mind it does!
I usually (although not invariably) write from a female perspective, but it's funny that people tend to assume I'm a man because my writing isn't particularly 'feminine' apparently. Just goes to show that the males/females don't have a rigid barrier between them when it comes to thoughts/expressing themselves. I'm sure writers can connect with both their male and female sides. For some, one side is more dominant, while others can crossover comfortably.
I don't know why but my plots are often male-centric...I try to write about all backgrounds and races but when it comes to gender I stick to men. It's probably because my storytelling style comes from me spending my life drawing and i've always found it hard to draw the female figure without it looking weird. Probably should make a piece with a woman having a more significant role
I prefer to write from a female perspective. I write as Samantha Stone. I have tested it out. I posted my novel as written by Samantha Stone, and didn't let the people reading know that I was male. None of them suspected I was male. They said things like, "She's so real. I love her." I have also posted it so people know that I'm male, and I get the same type of responces. But it's odd, in chat rooms, people often think I'm a female.
