The Male Reader

Sexy dames, and plenty of 'em.

And blowing things up. Can't miss with that.

Sexy dames blowing things up? Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

I'm not a man, but I've got two brothers who are both avid readers. It seems to me that they're attracted to the same things I am: Good, plot-driven stories with strong characters. Snappy dialogue. Authors that show rather than tell.

Sexy MCs and explosions are a bonus, I suppose, but that pretty much goes for me too (mmm... Pierce Brosnan...).

I read with my eyes and brain, not my peni$ and testicles. Romances and Chic-lit don't really appeal to me, but they seem to be written for a gender-based audience. Author gender is not in my selectivity filter.

Write the best story you can and worry about the audience later. If you incorporate specific scenes to appeal to a male audience, make sure the primary reason for inclusion is to move the story along, secondarily to increase the breadth of appeal. If a scene that has broad appeal slows or stops the story, or even if it is neutral, consider cutting or modifying it.

Works with animals too:

The adorable kitten reared back and hurled the grenade at the unsuspecting flock of birds. The explosion tossed bits of bird into the air which landed upon the ground, where they furry little cat could enjoy it's quiet meal without the annoying chirping.

There, now everyone should be happy.

I can only speak from my own experience and views...

I like a story that moves -- both physically (plot, etc.) and emotionally. I do like a fast-paced thriller/suspense/etc. for pure entertainment purposes. That's cool, but I don't usually read the book again. The kind of books I do read again, and again, is the kind that enthralls, enchants, and enlightens.

I like to solve problems, as do most men I know. So I think a story that presents a problem, or a mystery, and takes us on a journey to solve the problem or fix something would be very intriguing. I like clever plots, but not at the expense of the characters. I like strong, complex characters, and not stereotypical, cardboard cutouts. Good vs. evil stories are ALWAYS good, but I also enjoy intimate, personal dramas -- but the bottom line is that the story must moves, with a clear plot and purpose.

As a man, I do NOT like stories that wallow in thoughts and feelings and get too introspective. I like it when the author actually takes me there, and puts me inside the story, and lets me experience it, instead of trying to lecture me or "telling" me something. As I become more aware of the craft of writing, I find myself enjoying more and more stories that "show" me the way instead of just "tell."

I enjoy many different types of stories -- mystery, SF, thrillers, suspense, love story, romantic comedy, literary. There are two common criteria for me to consider if a book is good: a) does the story moves and b) are the characters real? If you succeed in doing so, I'm yours no matter what your subject/genre is.

What Maestro said (except for the Love Story novels...don't read those, myself). I remember picking up Iris Johansen's novel The Search, thinking it was a thriller. You can't blame me, since it was called a thriller and had the words "Gripping" and "Shocking" splashed across the cover. It started off fairly well, but then the protag spent all her time defining herself by the way men had treated her in the past and talking to her search dog (which talked back, btw). The action was treated almost like a sub-plot and when that plot line reached its apex, it was dismissed with a wave of the hand, while the protag thought about new loves. Until that book I'd never really thought of myself as a "male reader", even if I was male and I read a lot.

Needless to say, I'm a little more choosy about my thrillers, now.

Philomel said:

Thank you to all who have replied thus far. To clarify: I write literary fiction and am not looking to pander to one gender or the other, but simply am intrigued by the different preferences in reading.

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Although I generally lean towards male authors and read multiple genres, there are several female authors that I read and enjoy. Regardless of the gender of the writer, if their protagonist (male or female) has few or no flaws, I'll put the book down pretty quickly.

I do have a few pet peeves when it comes to some female authors. The worst (to me) is if they spend an inordinate amount of time describing the clothing and shoes a character is wearing. An occasional reference is okay, but a head-to-toe fashion analysis every time she changes clothes puts me in a trance.

And I also don't want a constant evaluation of what caused a former relationship to go sour while she's tracking down a killer or delivering her closing arguments to the jury.

I'm not saying these are invalid writing techniques, I'm just saying they drive me bonkers.

I'm afraid I typically do not read literary fiction myself, as I generally prefer mindless entertainment.

One thing that I typically enjoy is a story having a problem to be solved, sort of like Maestrowork said. I usually prefer the main problem to be at least partially external, whether it's who murdered somebody or Captain Ahab's quest to hunt down Moby-Dick. It's usually good if you don't introduce the problem immediately to start off with some other, unrelated problem - before introducing the white whale, for example, Melville first introduced Ishmael, with his incurable urge to go sailing, a lack of money, and a couple other personal difficulties to keep the reader intersted before Captain Ahab walks in on his peg leg.

My brother and Dad and I read pretty avidly.

The #1 rule: If your main character is a man, he'd better behave like a man and not a flower. He can be scared, shed a tear or two if it calls for it, and be borderline romantic at times, but you'd better have him taking some kind of proactive action pretty quickly -- even if it's the wrong choice.

NeuroFizz said:

I read with my eyes and brain, not my peni$ and testicles.

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One word Neuro: braille.



As to the question, I like sexy dames with preternatural powers killing things. And to be honest, my reading list has many female authors on it, all writing that sort of thing. Seems like urban fantasy is predominently written by females.

Men and Irony

Philomel said:

Thank you to all who have replied thus far. To clarify: I write literary fiction and am not looking to pander to one gender or the other, but simply am intrigued by the different preferences in reading.

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I wonder if men (and I use myself as a model here)...don't enjoy wickedly humorous irony more than women. This would explain why Jane Austin and Henry Fielding are still fairly popular and Samuel Richardson is not.
The test case would be Persuasion. I like it, but perhaps as much for its bitterness as anything else.

I don't have dangly bits myself, but I would think any book where a good, exciting plot takes a backseat to lots of soppy romance would turn most guys off. Heck, it certainly turns me off! Not that I mind romance, I just don't want it shoved in my face through half the book (when it's not a romance novel, where you'd expect it).

Here, Philomel, I'm going to link you to Shweta's excellent 'minds and brains' thread.

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34133

It's a long read, but it has some great stuff on gender differences in reading and writing.

Though I am a male, and I love to read, as a writer it would be more lucrative to appeal to the female reader since that is the larger audience, and you'd be surprised at what some males are willing to read - - I, for that matter, love reading Richard Paul Evans, and he writes primarily with the female in mind - - thing is, good writing will be read by people that like to read - - and as a new writer we should focus on the larger audiences. Write what the market desires until we get known enough that it doesn't matter what we write, then shake it up a little. That's my opinion, anyway.

LightShadow said:

... and as a new writer we should focus on the larger audiences. Write what the market desires until we get known enough that it doesn't matter what we write, then shake it up a little. That's my opinion, anyway.

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I disagree. I'm not going to change my whole style of writing, my focus, what interests me as a reader and a writer, just so I can reach the "larger audience." If what I write doesn't appeal to anyone, so be it. As Shakespeare said, "To thine own self be true."

You cant write to the market. By the time your novel is done, the market will have changed. And what's in the market today was bought two years ago. Write what you want to write, write it well, and the readers will find you, male or female.

The whut?

caw.