tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post8909517476778152394..comments2024-03-28T05:59:52.454-07:00Comments on TalkToYoUniverse: TTYU Retro: Writing male point of view Juliette Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-31207707768619922712012-12-12T21:29:22.691-08:002012-12-12T21:29:22.691-08:00Justaddstory, thanks for commenting. I typically a...Justaddstory, thanks for commenting. I typically approach things the way you do, I think, defining character and letting the gender chips fall naturally. Not everyone approaches things this way, however - and I imagine that some genres or stories might call for a very deliberate approach to gender identity.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-67034750980541833432012-12-12T18:07:18.726-08:002012-12-12T18:07:18.726-08:00I find that I never use a character's sex to d...I find that I never use a character's sex to directly define their characterisation. Instead, I let it naturally influence their desires and interests alongside all the other things that influence that. Then I let them define their characterisation from their desires and interests. <br /><br />I know not all writers will build characters that way, but I just find this method more realistic. I also find that this means I automatically avoid sexual stereotypes. :-)<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-44142767447645970032012-12-11T19:13:54.142-08:002012-12-11T19:13:54.142-08:00Sounds pretty good to me, ABE. Good luck with your...Sounds pretty good to me, ABE. Good luck with your project!Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-21736236501198668292012-12-11T19:10:10.657-08:002012-12-11T19:10:10.657-08:00"thinking through the personality, psychology..."thinking through the personality, psychology, culture and personal history of the narrator"<br /><br />I find that whenever I need to motivate a particular behavior in my main male character (the other two main characters are women), I have to go find the right story that, added to what I already know about him, makes that particular motivation credible, almost required, for his personality and history.<br /><br />I notice TV does that a lot: they take a character of whom we only know a bit, and give that character a brother we never heard about before, a reason why we never heard about the brother, and a story that explains their relationship - and voila, an episode with emotional resonance.<br /><br />As a nice side benefit, I get these little stories - and some times write them up as standalones.<br /><br />I figure if I ever get this finished and published, and people read it, that those stories will be nice additions to a 'canon' or an 'omnibus edition' - for those who care about the characters.<br /><br />It also give me practice in another writing form, short story, play, confession, essay - nothing ever gets wasted.<br />ABEAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-91909534967511622362012-12-11T13:25:14.429-08:002012-12-11T13:25:14.429-08:00Well, I think one of the most important elements i...Well, I think one of the most important elements is thinking through the personality, psychology, culture and personal history of the narrator. That will help that character's gender identity be more solid. I'm not big on assigning people to fixed categories like "bad boy" "good boy" etc.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-70724373336691799012012-12-11T13:18:07.686-08:002012-12-11T13:18:07.686-08:00I think that there are several general types of na...I think that there are several general types of narrator personalities for both male and female narrators, or at least viewpoints. One is the "bad boy", although I'm not a fan of that, because of all of the usual tropes associated with the character type.chihuahuazerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15677672177353350936noreply@blogger.com