Tips for writing from a guy's POV?

sadbeautifultragic · Aug 1, 2011

Hello all!

okay someone recently brought this thread to my attention in another thread. i know i'm not supposed to, but i deleted the text because the thread is basically skewered with me talking about how i'm not a guy and blah blah but i am. i am a dude. not physically, but i am. and i don't like reading things where i refer to myself as anything other than a guy or a trans guy. so yeah. sorry.

basically the thread is what the title says it is. i was asking for tips on writing from a guy's point of view.

thank you.

Becca_H · Aug 1, 2011

It's a common problem. You're definitely not alone here. I struggle as well, and just about everyone else I know does.

There are tons of blogs on this topic, so many that I would struggle to find them all in my feed reader, but here's two I could dig up:

http://sarahskilton.blogspot.com/2011/04/down-these-mean-streets-boy-ya.html

http://fictiongroupie.blogspot.com/2011/06/man-up-writing-male-pov.html

Shady Lane · Aug 1, 2011

You're not writing A guy, you're writing YOUR guy. You know him really well.

Becca_H · Aug 1, 2011

Shady Lane said:
You're not writing A guy, you're writing YOUR guy. You know him really well.

Oh, and read Hannah. Lot's of Hannah.

She can do guys well.

Shady Lane · Aug 1, 2011

Becca_H said:
Oh, and read Hannah. Lot's of Hannah.

She can do guys well.

You're so sweet. But my boys are not universally loved.

But they are mine.

Becca C. · Aug 1, 2011

I second Hannah's tip. You're writing your character, and your character should be unique. Not just a stereotypical guy. Maybe he does describe clothing in detail (although I don't think the MC from Beautiful Creatures was a good male character at all).

sadbeautifultragic · Aug 1, 2011

Shady Lane said:
You're not writing A guy, you're writing YOUR guy. You know him really well.

Very true

Thanks.

sadbeautifultragic · Aug 1, 2011

Becca_H said:
It's a common problem. You're definitely not alone here. I struggle as well, and just about everyone else I know does.

There are tons of blogs on this topic, so many that I would struggle to find them all in my feed reader, but here's two I could dig up:

http://sarahskilton.blogspot.com/2011/04/down-these-mean-streets-boy-ya.html

http://fictiongroupie.blogspot.com/2011/06/man-up-writing-male-pov.html

Thanks! Those were helpful

sadbeautifultragic · Aug 1, 2011

Shady Lane said:
You're so sweet. But my boys are not universally loved.

But they are mine.

I liked them a lot.

Shady Lane · Aug 1, 2011

I like you.

sadbeautifultragic · Aug 1, 2011

Shady Lane said:
I like you.

Aw, shucks

Mutive · Aug 1, 2011

I think that the standard advice still applies - read lots of books that are good, written by a man, from a male's POV. Heck, you could probably even hunt down really good books written by women, written in a male character's POV!

It also helps to have a male beta reader, if at all possible, just to make sure that at some point in the story.

sadbeautifultragic · Aug 1, 2011

Mutive said:
I think that the standard advice still applies - read lots of books that are good, written by a man, from a male's POV. Heck, you could probably even hunt down really good books written by women, written in a male character's POV!

It also helps to have a male beta reader, if at all possible, just to make sure that at some point in the story.

Yeah, once I'm a little farther into the WIP I think I'm going to start looking for a male beta reader.

Thanks for the comment!

Katallina · Aug 1, 2011

The big issue that I see when people start these threads is that they are asking how to write "A Guy". As everybody has said, you need to figure out how to write Your Guy.

How does he talk? What would he look for first when he enters a place he's never been. How's his temper? His sense of humor? What does he *feel* his role in society SHOULD be? What does he feel it IS? (If he does follow any stereotypes, why does he do that?) You need to have a clear idea on who your character is and it might take just sitting down and writing for a bit before he'll click for you.

But the bottom line is to remember that every character you ever write should be unique, not just a variant on The Boy or The Girl.

missesdash · Aug 1, 2011

I think it's hard to be inside the head of a guy if you aren't one and don't spend a lot of time around them.

I can see how a girl would build a guy who describes scents, colors and dress styles with strange accuracy. I agree there are certain things you need to know about how men think versus the way women think in order to have a convincing character.

Once you're familiar with those things, you can definitely subvert and twist them as you see fit, but for it to feel real, it has to have that foundation. I think the best place to start, honestly, is to read about how testosterone affects women who are transitioning into men.

I've done that it it gives me a great idea of the inherent differences. I read one where the individual complained about how much harder it suddenly was to not glance at someone's ass when they walked by.

sadbeautifultragic · Aug 1, 2011

Katallina said:
The big issue that I see when people start these threads is that they are asking how to write "A Guy". As everybody has said, you need to figure out how to write Your Guy.

How does he talk? What would he look for first when he enters a place he's never been. How's his temper? His sense of humor? What does he *feel* his role in society SHOULD be? What does he feel it IS? (If he does follow any stereotypes, why does he do that?) You need to have a clear idea on who your character is and it might take just sitting down and writing for a bit before he'll click for you.

But the bottom line is to remember that every character you ever write should be unique, not just a variant on The Boy or The Girl.

I know and that's very good advice, but like I said, I meant very very basic things that very basically differentiate the girl from the guy. Stereotypes included, because a stereotype is a strereotype for a reason, right?

For example, what missesdash said. That's kind of what I meant, really broad differences about male thinking vs. female thinking.

Thanks for reinforcing the whole Your Guy not A Guy thing though, because I'm pretty sure I needed that as well.

Thanks for commenting

sadbeautifultragic · Aug 1, 2011

missesdash said:
I think it's hard to be inside the head of a guy if you aren't one and don't spend a lot of time around them.

I can see how a girl would build a guy who describes scents, colors and dress styles with strange accuracy. I agree there are certain things you need to know about how men think versus the way women think in order to have a convincing character.

Once you're familiar with those things, you can definitely subvert and twist them as you see fit, but for it to feel real, it has to have that foundation. I think the best place to start, honestly, is to read about how testosterone affects women who are transitioning into men.

I've done that it it gives me a great idea of the inherent differences. I read one where the individual complained about how much harder it suddenly was to not glance at someone's ass when they walked by.

Thanks, this was good advice

I have 5 brothers so I definitely spend a lot of time around guys. That's why I think I'm doing it well, I just wanted to get some advice from everyone else because obviously my brothers are not the only guys out there.

Thanks again for commenting, and I think I'll try out what you suggested.

Liosse de Velishaf · Aug 1, 2011

Shady Lane said:
You're not writing A guy, you're writing YOUR guy. You know him really well.

As a guy, I support this sentiment. We are all different.

For example, we do not all check out every ass that walks by.

The other main question is, are you after reality, or something your readers may find acceptable? When I read Roni's(fictiongroupie) post, the only conclusion I could come to was that I am not in fact a guy, and neither are many of the guys I know. We are just women who did not know it. XD

Also, never trust a guy when there are no other guys around. They will lie their asses off. We work really hard to keep up the mystique. It's so much easier when all you have to do is be dark and brooding and mysterious.

sadbeautifultragic · Aug 1, 2011

Liosse de Velishaf said:
As a guy, I support this sentiment. We are all different.

For example, we do not all check out every ass that walks by.

I'm aware

Like I said...again...what I meant was very basic things that differentiate the average man from the average woman. After I have the basics I will subvert them or keep them the same depending on the circumstances. There really are a few major differences and I was making sure I got them all.

Thanks for commenting!

Liosse de Velishaf · Aug 1, 2011

strategic_tragedies said:
I'm aware

Like I said...again...what I meant was very basic things that differentiate the average man from the average woman. After I have the basics I will subvert them or keep them the same depending on the circumstances. There really are a few major differences and I was making sure I got them all.

Thanks for commenting!

I was specifically responding to the comment about the transgender person.

missesdash · Aug 1, 2011

Liosse de Velishaf said:
I was specifically responding to the comment about the transgender person.

Haha, I didn't mean all guys do it. I simply meant that they're much more likely to do it then women, which I think anyone will acknowledge. In general, men are more visual.

There are exceptions to every rule. But say she wrote a group of guys and all five of them kept their eyes on a sears formal dress catalogue as an attractive woman walked by?

Sure there are guys who would do that, but the majority wouldn't, and if they read about it, they'd think it was ridiculous.

Liosse de Velishaf · Aug 1, 2011

missesdash said:
Haha, I didn't mean all guys do it. I simply meant that they're much more likely to do it then women, which I think anyone will acknowledge. In general, men are more visual.

There are exceptions to every rule. But say she wrote a group of guys and all five of them kept their eyes on a sears formal dress catalogue as an attractive woman walked by?

Sure there are guys who would do that, but the majority wouldn't, and if they read about it, they'd think it was ridiculous.

I see groups of guys ignoring attractive women walking by all the time. Sometimes they don't really see them, or are distracted, etc. Would I take it amiss if a certain type of guy checked out every woman's ass that passed by? Absolutely not. That would be silly.

It's important to consider stereotypes because of their cultural influence on readers, but that's not the same as using the to base a character off of. You should ask what stereotypes your characters would fall under after you have a good idea of their inherent personality, not before.

Becca_H · Aug 1, 2011

missesdash said:
I think the best place to start, honestly, is to read about how testosterone affects women who are transitioning into men.

I've done that it it gives me a great idea of the inherent differences. I read one where the individual complained about how much harder it suddenly was to not glance at someone's ass when they walked by.

I think this is an original idea, but there is so much more to guys than just testosterone. All it really does is provoke a greater sex drive (and a few other things, like more prone to aggression etc) but it's mostly the sex drive.

One thing female writers tend to sway to when writing guys, is to make them extremely horny. Thinking about sex all the time, constantly checking girls out, trying to chat them up because all they really want is to sleep with them. Yeah, some are like this, but they're in the minority.

Yeah, it's unlikely they'd admire a girl's dress, but they're just as unlikely to admire what's underneath it as well.

missesdash · Aug 1, 2011

Liosse de Velishaf said:
I see groups of guys ignoring attractive women walking by all the time.

Are they looking at prom dresses in a sears catalogue? Because that's the scenario I gave. If not, you're not really responding to me, you're soap-boxing.

No one in the thread has suggested basing characters off of stereotypes. I think we all know to avoid that.

sadbeautifultragic · Aug 1, 2011

Liosse de Velishaf said:
The other main question is, are you after reality, or something your readers may find acceptable? When I read Roni's(fictiongroupie) post, the only conclusion I could come to was that I am not in fact a guy, and neither are many of the guys I know. We are just women who did not know it. XD

Also, never trust a guy when there are no other guys around. They will lie their asses off. We work really hard to keep up the mystique. It's so much easier when all you have to do is be dark and brooding and mysterious.

Oh you're comment made me chuckle

It reminds me of my brothers.

Tips for writing from a guy's POV?

sadbeautifultragic

Becca_H

Where am I again?

Shady Lane

my name is hannah

Becca_H

Where am I again?

Shady Lane

my name is hannah

Becca C.

sadbeautifultragic

sadbeautifultragic

sadbeautifultragic

Shady Lane

my name is hannah

sadbeautifultragic

Mutive

Blissfully Clueless

sadbeautifultragic

Katallina

missesdash

You can't sit with us!

sadbeautifultragic

sadbeautifultragic

Liosse de Velishaf

sadbeautifultragic

Liosse de Velishaf

missesdash

You can't sit with us!

Liosse de Velishaf

Becca_H

Where am I again?

missesdash

You can't sit with us!

sadbeautifultragic