What I find amusing is that I write more male characters than I do female. Certainly not because I find it easier to write males, but because I invest myself more emotionally in male characters. But, I will admit, it is difficult to write about one of the opposite gender, and I doubt I have it completely right.
Only through life experience of my brothers and close friends that I at least have a coherent understanding of men. They do, in fact, think, act, and speak differently from females, a notion I've found to be very rare to discover in stories, annoyingly enough. I try (key word try) to make a determinable difference between gender, and I base it on these broad ideas:
- Males are prone to show less anxiety about their problems, if they expose their dilemmas at all. Most of this is due to cultural ideals set on them, but men tend to be less emotional about an action that happened to them. There's always a variation among them, of course, but to put it blatantly, they are less likely to whine about their problems than females.
- Males don't play the "guess what I'm thinking" game. You know that silent treatment girls provide to you? Yeah, that definitely doesn't happen.
- Males are more about action that speech. Whilst girls like to talk out their problems, men like to solve their problems with action. I've found that when I want to talk a lot about a drama problem with my brother, he usually just cuts me off and calls me to action. He doesn't realize I just want to talk about it.
I'm sure there are subconscious attributes about men that I don't think about when I write them, but I can't really explain a gender in just a few broad terms. And, these aren't set in stone. Everyone's different. Some might act more feminine or masculine than others. These aren't concrete rules.
It may be even harder to explain my own gender, as I understand all of it and couldn't possibly simplify them in just a small amount of words. But I'll try.
- Women are prone to think out their action before they do it. Usually by talking it out to a friend, it helps them put every piece of the problem onto the table to fit together and work out. Then they'll act.
- Women are more emotionally invested as well emotionally connected. Women usually understand their emotions a little more and connect with another human being quicker than a man, as it is their way of interacting with others.
- Women usually think about more than one thing at a time, whereas men focus more intensely on one thing.
A common misconception about women that people have--which really grinds my gears--is the assumption that women are categorized only in two ways: tom-boy or extremely feminine. Now, usually this is only made an emphasis in young adult fantasy or middle school romances, but I've grown tired of the lack of variant personalities females are written in--mostly by women themselves! Most of these instances are a product of weak or premature writing abilities, however; I hardly see it on this site, as most of these writers are very skilled in the art of character creation. But it is something I've grown tired of.
My two cents to other writers is to branch out! Waver from common actions both men and women make. Make a unique character out from its fullest. If you need help, observe each gender around you in daily life; see how they act. Study gender variances online. Read a philosophical book about the mind of men and women. Be well versed.
What I find amusing is that I write more male characters than I do female. Certainly not because I find it easier to write males, but because I invest myself more emotionally in male characters. But, I will admit, it is difficult to write about one of the opposite gender, and I doubt I have it completely right.
Only through life experience of my brothers and close friends that I at least have a coherent understanding of men. They do, in fact, think, act, and speak differently from females, a notion I've found to be very rare to discover in stories, annoyingly enough. I try (key word try) to make a determinable difference between gender, and I base it on these broad ideas:
- Males are prone to show less anxiety about their problems, if they expose their dilemmas at all. Most of this is due to cultural ideals set on them, but men tend to be less emotional about an action that happened to them. There's always a variation among them, of course, but to put it blatantly, they are less likely to whine about their problems than females.
- Males don't play the "guess what I'm thinking" game. You know that silent treatment girls provide to you? Yeah, that definitely doesn't happen.
- Males are more about action that speech. Whilst girls like to talk out their problems, men like to solve their problems with action. I've found that when I want to talk a lot about a drama problem with my brother, he usually just cuts me off and calls me to action. He doesn't realize I just want to talk about it.
I'm sure there are subconscious attributes about men that I don't think about when I write them, but I can't really explain a gender in just a few broad terms. And, these aren't set in stone. Everyone's different. Some might act more feminine or masculine than others. These aren't concrete rules.
It may be even harder to explain my own gender, as I understand all of it and couldn't possibly simplify them in just a small amount of words. But I'll try.
- Women are prone to think out their action before they do it. Usually by talking it out to a friend, it helps them put every piece of the problem onto the table to fit together and work out. Then they'll act.
- Women are more emotionally invested as well emotionally connected. Women usually understand their emotions a little more and connect with another human being quicker than a man, as it is their way of interacting with others.
- Women usually think about more than one thing at a time, whereas men focus more intensely on one thing.
A common misconception about women that people have--which really grinds my gears--is the assumption that women are categorized only in two ways: tom-boy or extremely feminine. Now, usually this is only made an emphasis in young adult fantasy or middle school romances, but I've grown tired of the lack of variant personalities females are written in--mostly by women themselves! Most of these instances are a product of weak or premature writing abilities, however; I hardly see it on this site, as most of these writers are very skilled in the art of character creation. But it is something I've grown tired of.
My two cents to other writers is to branch out! Waver from common actions both men and women make. Make a unique character out from its fullest. If you need help, observe each gender around you in daily life; see how they act. Study gender variances online. Read a philosophical book about the mind of men and women. Be well versed.
