Male characters vs. Female characters

Discussion in 'Character Development' started by Lily, Oct 25, 2007.

  1. crs

    crs Active Member

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    No gender bashing here either. I thought it might be relevent (if not foolish) to point a few differences between the way men and women communicate. Wasn't saying was one way was better than the other.
     
  2. Lily

    Lily New Member

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    Hmm, lots of assumptions being made today.
     
  3. maitechu34

    maitechu34 New Member

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    women writing male characters

    I would like to have different ideas on women writing male characters. I have been searching that some writers created weaker characters. I asm working on Detective Fiction but I would like to know or have more examples to justify my perception.

    Maitechu
     
  4. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Check out Storm Constantine's Wraeththu series. She explores gender and gender roles in men to extreme detail in these books. These books are fantasy/sci-fi.
     
  5. daturaonfire

    daturaonfire New Member

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    XD You know Stephen King probably had this very conversation with his wife at some point. He does have spot-on dialogue.

    On-Topic: I agree that women and men have different ways of communicating. Studies have been done that show women tend to soften their sentences by turning them into questions. "It's beautiful out, isn't it?" That sort of thing. I'm a girl, I know, I do it too sometimes. = ) Men seem to be more direct. And that's okay! There's nothing wrong with either style.
     
  6. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Beware of generalizations. Another word for them is stereotypes.

    Practice observing individuals, and model your characters from them rather than from gender/race/ethnic composites.
     
  7. daturaonfire

    daturaonfire New Member

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    "Beware of generalizations. Another word for them is stereotypes."

    This is true...it is definitely too easy sometimes to paint people with a broad brush. Not so good for the writing, I guess. :p
     
  8. Dr. Doctor

    Dr. Doctor New Member

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    Very much agreed. I love running around and playing sports and what not, but watching them has just...never really registered with me as something I felt like doing, not on TV at least.

    I'm good with both, I think, but there's always room to improve. The women in my current long-running story tend to have smaller roles, which is, I guess, just how it goes.
     
  9. starseed

    starseed New Member

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    LOL. According to this thread, I'm totally a guy. :)

    Not all women do that either. I can't STAND going to the restroom if anyone else is even in there, let alone anyone I know. If someone tried talking to me while I was taking a piss I would freak the hell out!

    There is a lot of generalization in this thread, and while some of it may be true in some circumstances, this male vs female standard of behavior has not been my experience in life. Me and all the other women I know talk just as crude as the guys, flip each other off, say things like "hey fat ass" and other insults all the time! And most guys I know aren't particularly egotistical and tend to talk about their feelings just as much as women. There don't seem to be as many rules about things on either side anymore. Women aren't expected to act "ladylike" that much and men don't seem to feel as much pressure to be macho either (although there is definitely still some of that).

    Eyezforyou, I can tell you that men absolutely have conversations like the cheesy one you wrote. I'm not saying that dialogue is particularly interesting to the reader, just that it's not unrealistic for a guy. My ex would go on for hours gushing "I love you's" and "Your the light of my soul" type talk at me. Whether someone else would want to sit and listen to it is another story, lol. ;)

    I think writing for a men vs women depends a LOT on the setting of your story. If your story takes place in the 1950's or earlier that's one thing. My story takes place in the present day and the people in my story behave pretty much like people I've known in my real life. They each have their own personality quirks but none of them are so much indicated by their sex.

    Absolutely! I couldn't agree more. It really annoys me when I'm reading something and a character comes across like a generic stereotype.
     
  10. MelissaLynne

    MelissaLynne New Member

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    I think its easier for most writers to write from the point of view of their own gender. Most of my main characters are female, because its much eaiser to relate to them and makes my writing stronger. Sometimes I write from a male's prespective every now and then, and the more I practice the easier it gets. Why not try some short story excercises with males as the main character?
     
  11. Des_Maca

    Des_Maca New Member

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    As a male I find myself unable to write form the male perspective. I often find it matters little what gender the character, as long as they are a good character.
     
  12. Jones6192

    Jones6192 New Member

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    If it is an action-filled story, I generally think the best bet is a male protagonist, just because we are so...naturally violent. But female protagonists offer so much potential for strong role models for women, so I definitely see the advantage. In the end, I'd say it depends on the nature of the story.
     
  13. w176

    w176 Contributor Contributor

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    Maybe just for that reason female in a violent role often have higher emotional impact. We more used to see male resort to violence and it acceptable to have male character be hur or die on voilent ways.

    Using a female character can for that very reason give the story an extra punch. Ailien for example make a great use of letting a female be violent without turning her into a man with boobs or a superhero. And it one of the things that make it a very memorable movie. The same thing can be said about Kill Bill.
     
  14. Jones6192

    Jones6192 New Member

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    I've recently decided to change my villain's gender to female. Basically, I looked over the baddie I had and decided that he was dangerously close to being yet another cliche Evil Overlord, so I decided to spice it up by making him a her: more Maleficent, less Lord Voldemort. So, I guess what I'm asking is: do the same rules on gender-choosing apply to villains, or do they belong in their own separate category of characterization?
     
  15. minstrel

    minstrel Leader of the Insquirrelgency Supporter Contributor

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    There are no "rules on gender-choosing". Make your character whatever gender he or she is. If he or she isn't like anyone else we've ever read about, then that's GREAT!
     
  16. Vixey

    Vixey New Member

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    The original poster's question reminded me of the quote in "As Good As it Gets."

    When the receptionist tries to ask Melvin about his writing, and he insults her, lol.

    Receptionist: How do you write women so well?
    Melvin Udall: I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability.

    I think it would work in reverse, think of woman and then take away any sensitivity or common sense. j/k
     
  17. Islander

    Islander Contributor Contributor

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    I found it easier to understand female characters after I started imagining the situation a woman is in. For example, how would I act if I was expected to show feelings, not control them? How would I feel if I was complimented for my looks, not just my performance? How would I feel differently about relationships if I a) was the one who had to carry the child for nine months, b) was the one who was penetrated, c) was the physically weaker one, d) the other gender was a lot more eager to have casual sex than I, and d) there was no shame in being financially supported by my partner?

    So for a woman to write male characters, maybe it helps to imagine the opposite. As a man, you're expected to be strong and handle things by yourself. You don't get help if you don't ask for it. You're expected to be more direct and confrontational. People listen to you more. Women are nicer to you, while men are more likely to view you as a competitor. You're likely to have unfillfilled sexual desires a large part of the day, and get distracted by females you meet. Whenever you approach a woman, the odds are in favour of rejection (for most of us at least). You're taught to be polite and protective to women, but not necessarily to listen to them. You're likely afraid of being viewed as homosexual. You're likely uncomfortable with touching other men, or seeing other men naked. If you show too much feelings, you're a sissy. If you're too close to your family, you're a momma's boy. And so on.
     
  18. Elgaisma

    Elgaisma Contributor Contributor

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    Stereotypes are useful - stereotypes are there for a reason. Whilst I don't do in your face stereotypes I do use them but soften and tweak them to fit my characters.

    I have written my first threeish books from a male point of view (first person present tense) only thing that my seventeen year old boy didn't pass by my teen male readers was the fight scenes (they had middle age lady with handbag quality). Thanks to a gentleman on this site the same boys now think they are just about right. He has a couple of stereotypes - starts the book off languishing in his bed, sniffs his jeans by the bed, argues with his dad and he heroworships his much older brother lol He has body image issues and is a little nervous around women. He spends a lot of time in the shower. One of my teen readers asked about it and like I said growing up most of my male teen friends either didn't know what a shower was or you couldn't get them out of it - he laughed and agreed it was about right as a stereotype. However these are softened and given depth by the young mans intelligence and moments of great wisdom - those moments when he behaves in a manner you wouldn't expect him to.

    My twenty nine year old gay man is passing by my gay men mid twenties - early thirties I have reading him. My steamier scenes have needed some work - as they sounded like a prudish middle aged woman had written them (wonder why lol) Quite excited one well published author of gay fiction has given me a great quote for when I am querying saying how normal they feel. However I have used stereotypes to frame his character - he can hang a set of curtains (to quote from a couple of gay friends you don't get in the way of a gay man and his curtains), snot is his version of kryptonite and he sews quilts (his partner calls him an old woman lol) - not overt stereotypes and easy to work into the story and his character. However they are enough to give a feel and depth to his character. He is also an exceptional fighter and a strong man, swears a bit etc

    I don't know any 130 year old immortal men to read my current book so just going with it lol
     
  19. Indivisible

    Indivisible Member

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    Ok this thread is long so I hope you'll forgive me if this has already been posted. :p

    As I've learned, female and male characters are beyond a gender, its an attitude, a belief system, a way of thinking. By that I mean you can have female characters that are very male, that if you didn't know their name and/or gender, you'd never guess that the character was a woman, and vice versa for a male character.

    These are the attitude of a male and female characters.

    Female
    -nurturer
    -instinctive
    -operates on emotion and intuition
    -are balanced, or like to keep things in balance
    -they view thing in a holistic manner
    -usually are believers, or quick to believe, others or things that seem unbelievable

    Male
    -analytical
    -logical
    -operates on facts and reason
    -imbalance, about forcing things to their will
    -they view things in a short sided manner ie. a to b, or b causes c, they don't see the whole picture.
    -usually are very quick to doubt others or things that seem unbelievable


    In short Male are very logical, forcful, and believe only in facts. Female are nuturers, balancers, and are holistic and intuitive.
     
  20. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    no one can do that for you, sweetieheart... understanding the 'other half' only comes with age and much experience in dealing with 'em... and even then, it never comes to most women... but in time, with enough observation/study of the critters, if you have the requisite talent and intellect, you should at least be able to write male characters well enough to 'pass'... ;-)
     
  21. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    While I realize that you're saying (I think) that these characteristics don't necessarily go along with actually _being_ female or male, and that they don't necessarily have to come together as a package, I still have to say that the packages themselves don't work. For example, "analytical, logical, operates on facts and reason" and "don't see the whole picture" strike me as being in direct conflict with one another.

    ChickenFreak
     
  22. Elgaisma

    Elgaisma Contributor Contributor

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    I don't think starting with stereotypes is a bad idea and then using the individual character to inform and soften them. They are often stereotypes for a reason.
     
  23. Agent Vatani

    Agent Vatani Active Member

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    Well Indivisible, I'm a woman and very logical. But I have not problem writing in a guys or girl's POV. Maybe cause the younger them as around a lot of guys.

    But you got to think like a guy (which can be scary something, :p). It's kind of hard for me to put it... Maybe reading Waffles and Noodles, will help.. (I think that's the title.. I know it has waffles in it.) Anyways, yeah it's a weird title but don't judge a book by it's cover.
     
  24. Unit7

    Unit7 Contributor Contributor

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    Honestly? I first forget that the character is male or female. I know for a fact that not all guys are the same. Some are more lewd then others, some are down right assholes towards woman, some treat their girl as if she were a goddess. Some guys like to take control, while others are to easily controlled. All this goes the same for woman. Some are more emotional and some are more logical. Some love sports, others can't see the point.

    They also do not all act the same. Some have no problem with using their body to get what they want while others are revolted by the very concept. Some will show a brave front when dealing with emotional problems, while others struggle to keep their emotions from clearly showing.

    So in large I don't really think about my characters as male or female. I think of them as human. Well in some cases elf or whatever their race is.

    Human first, gender second.

    That tends to be my number one rule when writing a female character.

    So far it has served me well.

    I think. But then again I am biased.
     
  25. Indivisible

    Indivisible Member

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    It is a broad generalization to achieve your stereotypical male or female character, so I hope you'll forgive me, because obviously the real world isn't so black and white.

    The quotes aren't really contradictiong, to me atleast. A male character will operate only on fact and reason and will not see the whole picture. By that I mean he can't see the forest for the trees. He only focuses on the minor details, as I said, "a goes to b, or b causes c", very direct. It can seem contradictary, i understand, but what I mean by that is that males operate on reason and facts only, they don't use their gut, they don't trust their intuition as much as female characters. Male characters get stuck on minor factual details, while female like characters, on the other hand, can see the whole picture and don't get tied up on minor factual details. Now this can be a positive or negative trait depending on where you want to go with your character/story. Does that make sense? :confused: I don't know, hopefully it does.
     

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