forum DOES ANYONE HAVE TIPS ON MALE CHARACTERS?

Started March 12, 2019 by Screaming cinnamon roll

tune

hey I kinda suck at writing male characters, I'm getting better but if anyone has tips I would love to see them.

Well what do you want to know?

Well I'm not very good at making them in depth, I have one male character who I really like but that is because I have put so much time into him. Plus I'm not very good at character interaction/dialogue with them. I have practiced and I am getting better but I would like to be my best.

So what do you want in your male character? Start with more of the basic stuff (if they are introverted or extroverted, straight or gay or whatever, ETC) or you could start with the look of the character.

Personally I would recommend Roleplaying with him/them. I found it really helps with me connecting to my boys (as you can see on my profile, I have plenty xD) and overall, writing/developing males are not hard. You shouldn't worry about sticking to one sterotype, personify them however you want.

I agree with that.
Don't stick to stereotypes, mix and match what you want (in reason of course.) Males (as I should know) are fucking a dice roll of confusion, and random, so don't fret.

I think I might just need to get more attached to them because I find I write my favorite characters better than the ones I don't like as much. (I think that might be because I give the ones I like better backstories) Then again I do think I could do better, and not just because I don't like all my characters.

Hey, I can help you make the character if need help!

that would be really nice of you, thank you! I got what I needed for now, but I will be sure to tell you if I need help making a character again.

Imagine this is a thumbs up, ok?
Ok! I'll be here :P

:)

Did you mean?: uwu
(Suggested by: The fur/scale/goo boi)

I also have trouble with writing male characters, especially dialogue and thoughts because those are apparantly (slightly) different than those of women. so I just have male friends test read some bits and let them ad notes on whatever they think needs to be changed and how I could word things differently. Not that I do everything they suggest but at least half of it is very useful.

Male characters are honestly hard for me too, but just remember to give your character a goal, or more appropriately something that they want, both overall and in every scene. This goal is easier to find once you have the personality down, so that his goal can match with his personality. Just remember that men are not all that different than women are, so do not spend most of the writing time you have with him trying to make the audience clearly see the difference!

OY, we are not that complicated!

Can you not just write them as any other character? Surely all people are just people, not so complicated

True, but it's mostly the little differences in speech and behaviour that are difficult. for example, I once wrote a thought process on how annoying a male character thought this pink lady was because she was overly cheerful and stuff. Then my male friends _{note, it's plural} read it and said: yeah… I'd never say it like THIS, but I would say it like THAT.
and that's when I found out we apparently have preferences for words. It's small things you don't even notice until it's paid attention to.

I low-key base my male characters off a) the men/boys in my life and b) my favorite male characters. There are speech patterns that are associated with one gender or the other– Check out the documentary He Said, She Said by Deborah Tannen if you want a really basic, extremely overgeneralized explanation of what those associations are. However, speech patterns and behaviors are highly individual and depend on way more variables than just your gender presentation. The best place for any character to come from is your own experience. The good news is you can always do more research and add to it.

Well, stop thinking of your character as a dude. That's just a physical appearance. You should focus on their character and what makes them who they are. I had trouble with writing women because I thought there was a different approach but really it isn't. Unless their gender is something that the plot revolves around.

I agree with that.
Don't stick to stereotypes, mix and match what you want (in reason of course.) Males (as I should know) are a dice roll of confusion, and random, so don't fret.

but then again, who isn't a dice role of confusion?

Male characters should have really interesting flaws since readers are bored of the perfect male hero type character. Give them a god complex. Make them scared of something. Make them overly emotional or easily angry. And don't have these flaws pop up once. Use them to push your story forward and mix things up. Always happy to help!

guys, don't make ANYONE a perfect hero type! think of Haymitch Abernathy, Ron Weasley, Newt.

Newt is the best

guys, don't make ANYONE a perfect hero type! think of Haymitch Abernathy, Ron Weasley, Newt.

Ah, my children!

and by Newt I don't mean a lizard, and you think I did, then we can't be friends