Strengthening male mc

Give him balls of steel and a drink problem.

I have the opposite problem: I write better from the male MC's PoV (actually most of my male characters are far better drawn than my females).

Watch men, talk to them, listen to their rationale for things when you're around them. Why is your male like he is? What does he do? Why does he do it? Ask him what happened in his past to make him as he is today. Try not to overthink (as women tend to do sometimes). With many men, it's wysiwyg, but there's always a reason behind their actions. They may never tell what that reason is, but it's there.

I'm probably just babbling, but that's how I do it.

Men are very simple. We do what is logical at the time based on the information we have, our own personal codes of conduct, and our desires/goal in a given situation. Most of our decisions can be reduced to a math problem if you have all the factors right. At least the stereotypical male.

We don't make many feelings based on intuition (instinct is a different matter) feelings (except for anger...that clouds our judgment) or less quantifiable factors.

How about misusing a quote (but tongue in cheek!)
"Think of a woman. Add reason and accountability."

Time will tell yet if what I'm doing is working, but for my male protag, I use lots of showy action words as an indication of what he is feeling vs. relying on "He felt" or whatever. So he clenches a fist instead of me writing "he felt the anger surge through him" (ok, honestly, the prose is not that bad...this is just an example).

I found that it helped keep me on track whenever he started to get too touchy-feely, or started thinking the way I thought a man would think.

Also I think a lot of men tend to operate in terms of "how can I solve this problem" instead of dwelling on the feeling aspect of the situation, even though they are there. Both genders experience feelings, the difference is how they act on them. So after you figure out what the mc might be feeling (and you can use your own as a barometer), experiment with different ways a man might act out his feelings.

Another thought: if the scenes with him seem to flat, maybe there's not enough conflict. Maybe he has to make some poor choices or misread a situation or something which then provokes conflict with other characters. Raise the stakes.

I'm just rambling off the top of my head, so feel free to ignore it if nothing helps.

If you're completely stuck... just ask a guy friend to read what you have and ask him, "what would you say/do in this situation?" Or just have him read it and ask if he thinks your portrayal of the male gender is accurate.

Otherwise, just do what jodiodi suggested. Go hang out with some guys for a while.

Also, when men are talking to each other (or to women come to think of it), they may use humour to hide their feelings or cover up an awkward situation. This could make for a conflict in itself. Maybe he wants to talk over his feelings, but finds he just can't because it's not the 'thing' to do.

I'm half male, so it comes easy for me. LOL

Any advice to help me flesh him out and make him a richer, more believable character?

Click to expand...

Interview him. Get him to open up and talk about the story, his past, what he cares about, what annoys him. Get to know him and he'll come to life.

Here's the spectrum, as I see it -- Men are either guarded, using few words to express their emotions, or they are cocky, boisterous blow-hards who love themselves, and their penises, entirely too much. There are a myriad of types in between, but these two set the balance for the opposing ends of the spectrum.

Don't dare ask which one I am. I can figure out my characters but, alas, I am an eternal enigma to myself.

Lyx

Hey...I like...Dev's on top of me.

I hate to send someone to literature, as opposed to real life.

But it wouldn't hurt to read some works whose male characters remind you of your own hero.

I can't say -- 'go here or there' -- because your male MC is not my male MC.

But I found useful (giving you an assortment of characters and authors) Willie Gavin, Humphrey Bogart, Dorothy Dunnet, Dorothy Sayers, Dashiell Hammett, Bernard Cornwell, Patrick O'Brien, Clint Eastwood, Brother Cadfael, Diana Gabaldon, ...

Probably other folks can give you suggestions, for that matter.

Of all things, I use my dh as a core. I know this so-called "manly man" inside and out. Now, I'll go ahead and change his physical features and his bank account (man, I wish my husband had that kind of money) but at the heart, his thought process is very similar to my husband's. It just seemed to work easier until I had a handle on the male perspective.

Hope this helps.