Hello everyone. I have a scene in which a guy has been dumped by his girlfriend, and he's trying his best to be strong and not cry. So he says in his mind: Don't be a wimp, Mark. Don't you dare cry. Is wimp the right word? If not, what word would you use? I checked the dictionary and even though one of the definitions of the word is weak, I noticed the main definition is cowardly. Thanks!
Get into a strong habit of using dictionaries and thesauruses. A wimp is someone who is either 'weak, timid, unassertive, or ineffectual'; or otherwise like somebody who whimpers: somebody who '[cries] with low, plaintive, broken sounds'. So 'wimp' is a fair word to use here. But, stylistically, it's a word that's very harshly overused; it's the kind of word one might expect from young schoolers of whatever age or somebody's combatant parents or grandparents, all having lived lives which wore words like these into cliché. There are better ways to describe wimpiness, or whimpering, and one's effrontery against the emotions which lay behind them, or insofar as you've described. For those you should go looking than these kinds, kiddish and arid.
If I were writing a man who was trying not to cry, I'd have him do gruff talk to himself. For God's sake, man! Don't you cry on everyone here, what would your parents think? Your friends? You're tougher than that, stronger than that. RGGGH!! <physical actions to show anger like throwing things around and punching the wall> There! Let it out on that wall, let it have it! The pain is good! Let it out! Granted he may have broken wrists if he punched the wall too hard, so yeah. I guess it would depend on how he perceived the notion of men crying. He may very well just excuse himself to an empty room (or his own bedroom) and let himself have a good cry.
okay, I'll ask...why is he trying not to cry? If he's alone, why can't he? If he's not alone, why can't he tell himself he can cry later? Men do cry.
Crying because he's dumped by his girlfriend????? Ouch. Either they were a long, long term relationship and two steps from the altar or this guy needs a serious dose of testosterone! A friend here tells me he needs to stop watching "The Notebook" and re-runs of "Friends", etc. Guys might be able to work up a tear or two over the closing 'feel-good' segment on the CBS Evening News from time to time. Generally speaking though (and not meaning to stereotype anything), but guys usually save tears for big... really big events - birth of first child, death of spouse, maybe death of parent. In a war zone, however, all bets are off. Emotion levels are at such a fever pitch anything can happen but watching a buddy get blown to smithereens two minutes after you just chowed down on some delectable heat'n'eats together would be right up there in the 'Oh, shit" panic and tears, "I think my heart just got ripped out a little bit, and I just got a taste of mortality," arena. Not likely to cry over getting dumped by girlfriend outside the aforementioned long, long term, two steps from the altar kind of relationship. That's just my take on it, though. He's more likely to find reasons why the breakup is a good thing. "Stupid bitch was freaking over ever damn minute I spent with my buds. And... telling me I can't go away for the weekend to the drift competition? I'm the driver's freaking pit boss! Who does she think she is, anyway? She gets jealous every time I look at another woman! I can't even give a friend's wife a ride home from work without her freaking out over it. She's got too many issues. God! I am so done with that..." You get the idea.
Gah. I'm a guy, not a friggin' willow tree. Not going to be a sprinkler about it, it's not like my cat died or anything. Hell, I should be happy I'm single. Goddamn dust in my eyes again. Don't they have air circulation in this place? And who's the dumbass that decided to turn these fluorescents up to a million watts? Shit I miss her. Yeah, crying seems a bit extreme for being dumped. But hey, it's all about who you are and where you are in life. Usually depression, or testy-induced anger/frustration is a more likely reaction, methinks. Someone not wanting you would make you not want them in return, generally. We're all different, though.
