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Male vs. Female MC POV



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45 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 4140
Reviews: 45
Sun May 19, 2013 7:48 pm
artsy says...



Just to get a couple of different perspectives on something that I've noticed I needed to get squared away when I started revising some old stories. I'm used to writing a majority of my stories from a female main character POV (first person), and I've gotten used to the style(?) of writing. I've switched it up a lot in the past two years of writing numerous short stories, and have moved to either co-ed main characters, switching POVs every other time lapse/chapter break, my traditional female main character, or the male main character.

But every time I write in the POV of a male character, I feel like I'm doing something...wrong. Maybe in how I'm organizing the thought process, the actions, the absence of the detail, the presence of too much detail, etc. So if you guys have a specific way you write for your characters that are character specific, or have some sort of article or anything, let me know! I'm interested in hearing a lot of opinions.

So, is there any specific way you write your female/male main characters? Do you prefer to write a female or male main character? Do you prefer to read a fe/male character? Etc. Etc.
"You have brains in your head and feet in your shoes - you can steer yourself in any direction you choose!" - Dr. Seuss
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Sun May 19, 2013 8:06 pm
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Cadi says...



I prefer to read well-written characters, whatever their gender. Just like there's no "one right way" to be a man, there's no "one right way" to write a male character - think about the specifics of that character, what they know and feel, what their experiences and desires are, and so on. If the character is believable as a person, that's all you need.
"The fact is, I don't know where my ideas come from. Nor does any writer. The only real answer is to drink way too much coffee and buy yourself a desk that doesn't collapse when you beat your head against it." --Douglas Adams
  





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Sun May 19, 2013 10:16 pm
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Rosendorn says...



Some men are much more feminine, and some women are much more masculine.

As Cadi said, pick traits. Words like, "stoic", "egotistical", "nurturing". Determine personality based on that. Personality will determine thought patterns.

If you think of characters in terms of "men" and "women", you don't allow for the variance between gender. Gender is a social construct, therefore it's not actually anywhere near as biological as people make it out to be. You can be "very feminine woman" and "very masculine man" and everywhere in between. Sometimes all at once. Or you don't have a gender at all in the traditional sense.

You have to be aware of their history and their cultural surroundings, because that will be where their idea of "masculine" and "feminine" comes from. If they consider a girl who knows how to manipulate with nobody the wiser a "strong woman", then that's going to be a different kind of woman than one they expect to be not good for anything but pregnancy.

Find your culture. Pick your traits. Figure out where they fit in the world in terms of gender roles, and go from there.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

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For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.
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