Hi--

I am a straight female seeking advice about writing from the male point of view. At the moment, I am working on two short stories with male protagonists. Both are straight and in their mid-20s. One story is a romance, and the other has some romantic elements.

Any tips?

Well, i'm a married male and I was once in my mid-twenties, so maybe I could help you, but I probably need more info on where you are going. What do these guys do for a living, what are their personalities, etc. What specifically do you want to know about men?

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James Sadler

I did it in my book ECHOES OF A SILENT RIVER ( Booklocker.com)
In fact BOTH main characters were male..and this was at the time of the Civil War to boot.
I think it takes an *ear* to SOUND like a man...and I know some may think that this sounds sexist..but trying to get inside the HEAD of a man may mean ( at least for me( that the male character is more *visually* oriented.
By that, and this is a cliche..but they say men speak when they have something to say...women speak to find out what they THINK.
I think that is why if male characters are doing a whole lot of emoting, touchy feely stuff, yakking a mile a minute..they often come off in PRINT as if they aren't quite manly enough.
Unless that is the way your Characters are of course.
Just being observant of how guys that age relate is prime, how do they walk? talk? What ethnic group? Background? Geek or Jock? Average Joe or Prep school grad? The CHARACTER will determine who you will be looking at to do *research*
Maybe you could do a section of dialogue...show it to a few 20 year old guys. Not to critique it extensively, but to just see if it seems AUTHENTIC for a 20 year old guy in that group

My friend who does childrens stories ALWAYS...ALWAYS..ALWAYS makes sure the stories she writes are read for *fun* to kids that AGE in a casual atmosphere. She TELLS the story to kids that age.
THAT way just by being observant...seeing if they are bored with one part, excited with one part, booing or hissing at one part...she gets a feel for whats *real* and what might need tweaked.
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The Risky Writer http://theriskywriter.com Because NO Good writer plays it safe!

What i think that you should do is think about what you look for in a man that you like
and compare him with a man that you don't like . If , you don't like a man who smokes ,
drinks and fools around with other women think about things that makes him do his
dirty deeds.
Then , think about qualities that you like in a man like loyalty and devotion to work and
family or whatever . The more things that you can add for each person's good or bad
qualities , the more alive that person will seem for the reader .

straight men in their 20s? ok i was that age once and i did the following with great gusto:

drink beer
chase women
drink beer
ride my motorcycle
drink beer
take pretty girls for rides on my motorcycle
drink beer
have sex with pretty young women
and?
you guessed it, drink beer!

Here are some brief character sketches of my protagonists:

Bachelor #1 is 24, employed as an IT professional, and completed an associate's degree. He has five older sisters who are always looking after him and is close with his mother but not with his stepfather (father died when he was young). His interests include cars, fishing, music (he plays drums), hanging out with his friends, partying, and women. He acts tough but is really sensitive and moody. He is also much more intelligent than people think he is.

Bachelor #2 is 23, employed as a waiter while he finishes grad school and looks for acting jobs (has a bachelor's in theatre). I'm still trying to figure out his family situation, but he has many friends. He is in recovery from alcohol addiction and is feeling very vulnerable. He is highly intelligent and funny.

I am a devout heterosexual who has found that the difficulty most women have when trying to write from the man's point of view is that they tend to make him "sensitive" and not goal oriented.

For instance, two dudes get in a fight. The female writer seems to describe the settin the fight is in, the reaction of the onlookers and generally deplore or ignore the violence. A man, on the other hand, with describe the "good feeling" the character gets from sinking his fist (justifiably) in the bad dude's gut. The mechanics of the fight and the technique (if applicable) used by both.

This attitude holds over into non violent settings. I believe it was Victoria Holt, or one of her sisters, who wrote, "His climax was one of gentle agony. His heart filled with thankfulness and he held her close." In reality, "He rolled over, farted and went to sleep."

I was purposly crude in the last paragraph because I know many men who operate in that frame of existence. I was one of the fortunate few who learned to take the time to feed my woman's emotional needs. But for the man, "I came, I smiled and I I left is standard MO.

Here is a bit of Mormon doggerell that might help in the matter of attitude: "Higgamus Hoggamus, woman's monogamous. Hoggamus Higgamus, man is polygamous. For most women that holds as true today as it did in the eighteen hundreds when it was first uttered.

Guest had me ROLLING in my seat here because how TRUE!!!!!!!!
I havent heard that line in YEARS..Higgamus Hoggamus?
ROFL!
Ahem...look, I think it all depends on what traits your are trying to HIDE in the man and what you are bringing OUT, because rest assured..all PEOPLE, not just men and women are completely OUT there as far as their personalities.
You have secret jocks hiding in the *sensitive* soul's body..Angry men who cry at sunsets...cowards in battle and winners at work...successful men at work who aren't worth the food they eat with family....there is a subtlety that invigorates ANY character, especially men...if they can be COAXED out of the stererotype , no matter how he is percieved from the beginning...and unless it is necessary to the story...you sort of woo the reader TO the traits and POV the man is giving.Thats my take.

Rebekah

The Risky Writer- No good writer plays it safe!
http://theriskywriter.com

I have written some stuff from a guy's point of view if it seems to work for the story. I think one of the key things is getting know guys, having male friends, etc. and then observing the way they act. For one thing, I know with female friends, you have to read between the lines, try and figure out what they are trying to say. With male friends, they just say what they mean, and if they don't have anything to say, they just don't say anything. You get to know things like that if you hang around guys long enough. I have it a little easier than some people because my "day job" is a non-traditional one for women and in my university classes I was one of 9 women in a class of 90. Now at work, I am one of the only women in the place. But being in that sort of atmosphere lets you kind of see what guys are like and how they react. Having a brother or two will help also.

I think one of the biggest mistakes female writers make when looking at the man's point of view is something someone else mentioned earlier - we tend to make our male protagonists too sensitive and emotional. I think observation is the best way to get inside the character's head and write from his point of view.

Overall though, I think guys can write from a woman's POV and women can write from a guy's POV and make it sound right. It just may take a couple extra drafts. :)

Just think, Garfield. That should cover it.

Oh my God, I'm DYING laughing. I just wrote a scene of that nature last night and I think I went a bit soft on the male point of view. Maybe I need to reconsider! Ha!

http://www.amywinkler.com