@Moriarty
Recently, I stumbled across an article that gave tips for men writing from a female protagonist's POV. This article was written by a woman who was claiming to break stereotypes and cliches– and yet, every main point she covered that a man should consider while writing was the most cliche, shallow, girly-girl thing I have ever had the misfortune of laying eyes on. I'm a girl. I'm straight. I'm white. I'm female. Yet I do absolutely zero of the things mentioned, aside from overthinking, but I know men who do that just the same. Granted, I'm an odd case for a girl, but At the same time, I've read a lot of articles for women to write from a man's POV, and I question the accuracy of these as well.
Personally, I feel like I do a good job of writing from the POV of a male protagonist. Actually, if I'm being honest, it's much easier for me to relate to male protagonists than it is to female protagonists in most cases– but when reading articles like the one mentioned above, I wonder if that's possibly because the poor portrayal of women, even by female authors.
So this chat is to help out with that.
If you're a male or female author, leave a few tips for your fellow writers of the same and/or opposite genders. No offense, but I'm not referring to nonbinary or those of varying sexualities. Not to exclude you, but I'm mostly looking at the generalization of straight male and female characters.
As for my opinion on the matter, I think that there are important differences to acknowledge when writing male and female protagonists. HOWEVER, I don't think that the gap is as wide as some people make it out to be.
For example, many authors say that men are more "simple" and that they do not have thoughts nearly as complex as that of a woman's. Now, maybe not all men have complex thoughts, but I'm here to tell you right now that men can be flippin' complex whether you like it or not. In general, they might seem to get to the point quicker, but that does not diminish their complexity. They aren't emotionless, either. Granted, most men may seem more logical than women (perhaps this is why I relate to them? Logic > emotion), but I know many good men who are very emotional. They don't have to effeminate or sissified to be emotional. And emotional doesn't necessarily mean they're outside crying because they accidentally stepped on a butterfly, either. Again– EMPATHETIC DOES NOT EQUAL WEAK. And being logical does not equal being a jerk, either. Not all smart people are rude. Not all sweet people are dumb or weak.
Next are women. As stated above, I'm the classic straight, white girl. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. All that crap. And never once in my life have I giggled over a "cute" boy. I will say I have thought that guys were attractive, but I've never actually said it, probably because I've never been in a relationship. I don't understand why the crap all teenage girls in the world travel in packs to the bathroom or other weird places (I've never done that; in fact, when I was in high school and my friends would ask me to come to the bathroom with them, I always declined). I don't gossip. Gossip is as boring as it is stupid and pointless. I'm not interested in telling you about what I had for lunch today, because I'd rather talk about memes or philosophical subjects. I'm not interested in buying things or shopping for clothes (oh Lord please no). I'm not going to cry when you confront me, and I'm not a people-pleaser. I'd rather be alone than with someone, unless it's one close friend or a SO.
Now, there's nothing wrong with writing a character who acts like this, but I used myself as an example to show you that there are straight girls who aren't stereotypical. I know a lot of girls who do fit this mold, but I know some who do not. I know some who fit part of it and some who fit all of it. But, since this is a generalization, if you want a stereotypical girl, make her do all of the things I just said I don't do.
Okay, if you didn't understand anything from my incoherent rambling–
I think the most important thing to realize is that not every human fits the cliche stereotypes that everyone assumes they do. People get mad for stereotypical girls. They should. People should also get mad for stereotypical guys. You don't have to make the girl a full-blown tomboy to make her interesting, and you don't have to make the guy a soft little delicate flower that will crumble if you look at him the wrong way. If this is your goal, then, by all means, do it, but if not, I think the best thing to understand about writing your character is their personality.
Think about it like this: If this character had been born a girl instead of a boy or vice versa, how different would their personality be? For me personally, I don't think I'd be much different. Maybe a little funnier, because I personally feel like guys naturally have a knack at being waaaaaay more humorous than girls, but that's a different rant altogether and personal opinion rather than a fact.
NOW YOUR GUYS' TIPS. If you're a guy, offer some tips for writing men and anything important you think most female writers tend to overlook when writing about a boy. Heck, cover some cliches that even other men tend to screw up. Same for you, ladies. Tell us some important tips for writing about others of your gender, and what you think is usually screwed up the most. You saw my rant above: now it's your turn.
Thanks for reading, and HAPPY WRITING <3
–M.K.
