Hey! I was reading through the thread on favourite female characters there and realised that even in the past two years since that was posted, gender politics has shifted. The idea of "toxic masculinity" has come into play moreso recently, and I felt it would be a good idea to talk about writing male characters (especially male PoV, especially as the majority of our members are female!)
I always thought that I would find it hard to write male characters, but I finished a novel in male PoV without too much difficulty. However, taking a step back, I can see that both that character and the male lead from my own novel do have a lot of elements of toxic masculinity - they're both very arrogant, one is a so-called playboy and can be emotionally manipulative towards girls, the other in particular is emotionally shut off and makes a one-off misogynistic comment (which he later lives to regret). These are all displayed as character flaws rather than strengths, but even still, girls in the story find them attractive and people want to spend time with them. I can't decide if this is an issue or not (although I try not to write around 'issues' anyway, and just focus on the story and characters in front of me).
I guess this fits into a wider discussion of what is masculinity and what's toxic and what isn't, but for now, let's stick with the writing aspect:
1 - when writing a male character, are there traits you would include that you wouldn't necessarily include in a female character? (For instance, arrogance is a big one of mine).
2 - how do you write male characters displaying emotion? Do they cry? Do they get angry?
3 - if you're a girl, do you have trouble writing from a male perspective? Why/why not? And if you're male - are there recommendations you'd make that you think we ladies gloss over, or do you think we do an okay job ?
4 - if you're writing a character that you want to be 'masculine', what types of traits do you give them?
5 - is there any difference whatsoever between how you write male & female characters?
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