Writing Realistic Opposite-Gender Characters

loveislouder:

I hope you didn't take that offensively, because that's not what I meant at all. I just meant people can't really say that a guy isn't masculine enough or it too masculine, because it isn't that simple. I don't read or write about macho guys, it was just the first stereotypical description of a guy that came to mind.

No, I didn't. I was just commenting on the stereotype you chose to pick. Didn't take any offense at all.

I've had a hard time writing girls in the past, and now I'm thinking it's because I've had a hard time finding female characters in other stories who I could tolerate. I feel like because I am a woman, I should be able to write women characters...but honestly, there are just so many aspects of girls' attitudes and behavior in real life that I just dislike, so I stick to writing about boys. If I ever wrote a female character into any of my stories, I would just be self conscious the entire time, worrying that the character is coming off as annoying or unrealistic as the other female characters I've read in the past. The only types of female characters I've been able to enjoy reading in the past, have just been...normally male characters miraculously turned into females for the sake of the story? As in "girl!Frank" or "girl!Gerard". I never really had an issue writing boys, because I do have a brother, and I don't particularly feel like the male mind is that hard to write realistically.

Well being a guy I tend to write with more male characters. But I think the overall topic is an issue of characterization as well. It is rather annoying when I've never encountered a character before in a story I'm reading and its some mushy guys guy. Where's the depth, ya know? But there' also the question of masculinity and femaninity. When I write with girls, I just try and go with the character and not what I think they should be. I guess its the question as well of the differences between writing from the opposite sex's POV and writing from the same sex but viewing the opposite sex as well. Use those same tools and try to write from the opposite. Chracterization is all about fighting the stereotypical, so add depth instead.

My girls tend to end up being really masculine. So I tend to use male characters more.

I don't feel as though I have trouble portraying males in my writings because I write them so much. But then again, I usually tend to not care how I'm portraying my characters and I write them however I want. If I want my male character to be a stereotypical something or other, or a whiny bitch, then that's how I'm going to write them.

Girls, on the other hand, are a totally different ball game for me. I flat out suck at writing female characters, and I don't enjoy writing them, so I just don't write female characters unless I absolutely have to.

And as far as it goes on people commenting on how I portray the opposite gender, I have been told a few times that I do quite well at portraying my male characters and that I tend to make them feel realistic.

Even though I am a female...I believe I write the males better than females.
I don't know why. Males come easier to me than females.
Maybe it's because I have high expectations for females, since I am one myself. Or...maybe I'm afraid of my females becoming cliches.
I don't know. It works to my advantage, though. (:
Many of my stories have more males in them than they do females.

I'm a chick, but I mostly write dudes. I enjoy writing ladies too, though. I don't really have a preference, I've just always written more guys than girls, even when I first began writing. I really don't prefer one over the other though, and I have about the same level of difficult/ease with each, just in different aspects.

I think I write accurate depictions of males? I don't know, but I think so, and I certainly hope so. I've never gotten any feedback on the subject because I don't generally post my stuff online, but I'm confident in my ability to create realistic male characters, as well as female. I like to think that characterization is just one of my very best strong points, but who knows? Maybe I'm delusional. I guess I'll find out soon though, because I am getting ready to finally post a story I've been working on for years, and of the three main characters, two are male (one of which is like, the MAIN lead) and the other is female.

I just draw from people I know, things I've seen, how I know the guys in my life speak, think, act, react, etc. Like a few other people say, I don't generally think in terms of, "Is this how a male would act?" Rather, "Is this how my character Zack Harlow would act?" However, your gender and innate gender roles are a huge part of your identity, are they not? So you've got to give at least some thought to the gender and if, really, is that how a male would act?

Hm. None of that makes much sense at all. Ah well. I just had a meeting with my lawyer, I'm allowed to be a little incoherent.

I've been tempted to write smut slash, but I'd feel like a fraud because I'm obviously not a boy, so I don't know from personal experience what that would feel like .

That's really the only problem I have with opposite genders.

Oddly enough, I write boys better than I write my own sex.

I don't write male perspectives as much as I used to because I feel awkward doing so, like I'm not getting the exact thoughts of a male. I could write it a male in third person but first is too personal, and I'm better at writing females anyways.

I tend to write male characters more. They always come out just as better people then my female characters. Like, my female mains tend to cheat, drink, smoke, do drugs, etc... I dont know, that is just how they always turn out.

I always write as male characters, and often use that to describe a female character, i.e. someone they like/their girlfriend/their mate's girlfriend etc. I don't even know why. Sometimes I like writing as a male chauvinist, or someone only interested in sex, for instance. I think I do it because I observe people in great detail, so I feel as though I know I'm getting it 'right' when it's based on the actions and opinions of somebody I know. Plus, boys my age fascinate me, especially if they are the dickish type, so it all fits really.

My boys mainly come out as Holden Caulfield-types. Bitter and angsty.

It's easier for me to write guys. I often base my characters on real people, and I tend to observe the guys in my life more. I guess girls just don't fascinate me that much, but that might change after I get out of my small hometown.

I'm a girl, but I can't write girl characters very well. They usually end up seeming like some giggly slut. My personality is quite insane-ish, but to put it in words in a story just looks like its one of those 11 years old kids that claim themselves to be "random as fuck- ooh rainbow bunnies! :D"

My male characters have a bit of a feminine side usually, but they are generally better written than my female characters. That's why most of my stories are in a male's point of view.

for some strange reason i find it so much easier to write for guys, than i do for girls. i don't know whether it's because 90% of my friends are male, but writing for the opposite gender is extremely easy for me.

I don't really think it matters. I mean, it does to a certain extent, but people are people are people. For me, anyway. Maybe I'm totally wrong. I've never written anything from a guy's point of view before, though, and I think that would be a lot more difficult because there is definitely a difference between what guys do and what guys think.

I find myself having a hard time writing from a man's POV, like in my story Dream Life. But I've been told I write it pretty well, but I have to think extra hard on it. I sometimes backspace or skip some thoughts I think of giving the character because I feel it's more like something a woman would say or think. It's the most difficult when I have to portray how the man thinks about certain situations because I know men aren't as emotional as we are, but I know they do handle their emotions differently. I also have to pry on guys in real life to get an idea of what they talk about, how they talk about it, and how they act around each other, as oppose to how they act around females. It's almost like a science to it, I feel. Guys don't do the same things girls do. They don't go get their nails done, they don't shop, they don't get there hair done the way we do, they don't compliment guys.

Sometimes it's hard for me not to describe how attractive a male character truly is because I'm writing in the POV of a guy and I'm sure they don't pay that much attention. I know I don't with girls. And I sometimes feel gay or weird when I express how attractive a girl is in the story, especially since I'm not attracted to girls. But I get over it.

I guess since I'm not the average "girl" it's a little easier.

People say I write male characters well which is a huge compliment but I don't know if it's true; I know I have fun writing for males.

I really don't have trouble writing female characters - in fact my arguably most developed character is a woman. I really enjoy writing characters and whether they're male or female doesn't really matter to me.

I hate when men either are too feminene in these stories like they know what their woman wants and desires every moment of the day, ladies I'm sorry but we are fairly clueless. Also I hate when men are protrayed as only wanting sex we do think about more than that.