Writing Characters of Opposite Gender

patrickt · Post by **patrickt** » 28 Sep 2010, 08:08

Is it possible for a writer to write a credible protagonist of the opposite sex. When it comes to accurate actions and accurate motivations is it possible for a man to say what actions would be likely or even possible for a woman or to accurately explain motivations. I don't think so.

keep.walking · Post by **keep.walking** » 28 Sep 2010, 08:33

I disagree, it is totally possible to create an opposite sex character. I have seem many authors do that with sucess, and I am writting a novel right now wich has two female main characters.

I guess you are wrong when you think you have to use your own motivations and experience to fill up the characters's personality, lots of reading and living can give you the ability to extrapolate your own feelings and create a totally diferent char than you.

Perrywinkle47 · Post by **Perrywinkle47** » 28 Sep 2010, 10:32

Yeah I agree with you keep.walking. It all comes with experience

Shaysmommy5810 · Post by **Shaysmommy5810** » 16 Dec 2010, 14:15

I just finished my novella, in which my lead character (also the narrator of the story) was male. In all my other stories the women were like me (female), and it was much too hard for me to write them in without trying to add myself in. When I wrote as "Jim", I had a much easier time and it allowed me to play out that role all women want - "to be boy for a day"! lol!

Marto · Post by **Marto** » 24 Jan 2011, 18:56

I think writing an opposite gender character would add to the creative process.

DestinyStarx · Post by **DestinyStarx** » 26 Jan 2011, 10:04

I find it easier to write from a male perspective even though i am female. I guess it also depends on your surroundings and the most common sex in your life. I spent a lot of time with my dad and he always told me stories of when he was younger so i guess it grew from there

readingaddict · Post by **readingaddict** » 13 Feb 2011, 21:39

I am also female but generally find it much easier to write as a male protagonist.
A good example of this I found is John Marsden's Tomorrow When the War Began series. The protagonist, Ellie, is a teenage female and although the story is written by a man I found that I identified so much with Ellie and that we shared so many similar ideas. It is something that I always think about (the gender perspective) whenever I read the series. I think it is the mark of a great author to be able to switch genders and still create a believable and identifiable character.

Good luck with any future writing!

andr70 · Post by **andr70** » 14 Feb 2011, 05:49

The main problem in this discussion is that all the women think to know well men, and the last ones vice versa. As for me it's rather obvious to see the difference of man's or woman's writing 'looking through' the text.

Jonathon5 · Post by **Jonathon5** » 15 Feb 2011, 01:58

Hi,Nice post.Thanks for sharing!!!!!!!!

Melaniep · Post by **Melaniep** » 15 Feb 2011, 06:55

Strictly from a reader's standpoint, I won't normally read a book written by a male author in the female perspective. The few I've read, I had a hard time "connecting" to the character, making it hard for me to enjoy the book. So now I tend to avoid it.

Theresammoore · Post by **Theresammoore** » 22 Feb 2011, 20:11

Sure, I write male characters as men. I also write my own gender as strong female archetypes. Having spent more time with men and just seeing what they do in real life gives me perspective into their thinking processes. They scratch and think about women, and most objectify them but I have known men who were also respectful. Therefore my heroes tend to be a bit more refined and even sensitive, but they'll put you down on the floor in the blink of an eye without pulling their punches.
The women, too.

I'm a product of a life which exposed me to martial arts films and combat rather early. My neighbors were the kind who did not go to tea socials. Most of my friends were men because I preferred them to women as friends, and I identified with male heroes over women. I read comics like Wonder Woman, and I had a strong association with Xena. Of all the influences in my life I learned early on that survival involved having to face off against some pretty disturbing situations and emerge untouched. And now I write secure in the knowledge that I do know something about writing a character of the opposite sex.

Which is why I never read a Harlequin romance book. The kind of romance I write is more down to earth.

Maud Fitch · Post by **Maud Fitch** » 07 Mar 2011, 02:33

Even though I am a staunch supporter of Welsh writer Jasper Fforde, I once baulked at a particular portrayal of his female protagonist Thursday Next. Her JurisFiction adventures require her to be feisty, tough and resilient against a wide variety of oddball characters but on this occasion I thought “that’s not how a women would do it”. Then I pulled myself back and thought maybe Fforde knows a woman of that calibre and has enhanced her abilities.

Creative writing. We are, after all, talking about fictional characters!

Zekes · Post by **Zekes** » 15 Mar 2011, 00:15

I know its pretty hard to make an accurate feelings or moves or thoughts of an opposite sex, but if you really want to make your novel looks good. You'll find way to make the character that you're doing looks more natural right?