Female writing male POV

[MarshAlien]

That's very clever, Marsh. However, I've noticed you don't follow this theory yourself, in spite of being a male.

My stories are almost completely devoid of emotion. And they have even less sex in them after the first draft than they do at the end. So there.

 

[rachlou]

I've written characters from a male POV in a few stories. I know I probably end up giving them far more emotion and sensitivity than they would have in real life. But i like to try and get inside a man's head while he's trying to get inside my female characters knickers.

 

[MarshAlien]

I've written characters from a male POV in a few stories. I know I probably end up giving them far more emotion and sensitivity than they would have in real life. But i like to try and get inside a man's head while he's trying to get inside my female characters knickers.

And I've written from a female POV. I found it much harder.

 

[tickledkitty]

And I've written from a female POV. I found it much harder.

Actually, I think you do very well.

 

[MarshAlien]

Actually, I think you do very well.

oh, pshaw. Actually, none of those stories currently appear under my name . . .

 

[rachlou]

And I've written from a female POV. I found it much harder.

In all honesty, I didn't find it easy thinking like a man. But thankfully nobody has written me feedback saying, "RUBBISH! I would never have said/done that as a man!"

Yet...

 

[tickledkitty]

oh, pshaw. Actually, none of those stories currently appear under my name . . .

You still wrote 'em.

 

[MarshAlien]

You still wrote 'em.

You couldn't possibly have read more than one of "'em." To which "'em" are you referring?

 

[MarshAlien]

In all honesty, I didn't find it easy thinking like a man. But thankfully nobody has written me feedback saying, "RUBBISH! I would never have said/done that as a man!"

Yet...

I sent the female ones to a female editor first, who came back with, "you need to put lots more emotion and feeling into it before it will be believable."

 

[rachlou]

I sent the female ones to a female editor first, who came back with, "you need to put lots more emotion and feeling into it before it will be believable."

Yep, I think that's why most men don't pull it off so well. They find it hard to think emotionally; their brain is wired differently. Whereas they probably don't notice if they read a male character who is more emotional than the average guy.

Male and female dialogue is different too. Women are more expressive verbally and tend to skirt around things, whereas men get straight to the point.

 

[MarshAlien]

Yep, I think that's why most men don't pull it off so well.

That, and we like to push it in more than we like to pull it off. Or out.

See? Right there. That's exactly what I was talking about. Men.​

 

[Stella_Omega]

Yep, I think that's why most men don't pull it off so well. They find it hard to think emotionally; their brain is wired differently. Whereas they probably don't notice if they read a male character who is more emotional than the average guy.

Male and female dialogue is different too. Women are more expressive verbally and tend to skirt around things, whereas men get straight to the point.

On a tangent, this is what makes it possible to tell who around here actually is the sex they claim, and who is pretending.

 

[rachlou]

That, and we like to push it in more than we like to pull it off. Or out.

See? Right there. That's exactly what I was talking about. Men.​

Men.

I find that thinking like a penis helps me find my male characters motivation for most things.

 

[MarshAlien]

Men.

I find that thinking like a penis helps me find my male characters motivation for most things.

I dink, therefore I am.

 

[3113]

You also have to remember that what we don't feel we see. We are very visual creatures.

But they don't see color as well as women or gay men. Honestly.

Women also have a more sensitive sense of smell, apparently, or so says this study: "Experts say many studies show women out perform men in olfactory (sense of smell) sensitivity." BBC News It seems to be due to estrogen as there's no difference in male/female nose structures. I recall watching a documentary where a male-to-female transexual said this his sense of smell grew more acute with the hormones.

In other words, for a woman to have a man remember her perfume she's going to have to wear it often and make sure it's not too subtle. This also explains why some guys like a woman who hasn't, er, washed--too clean and the guy can't smell the girl. Women, on the other hand, are are more likely to ask guys to shower on a daily basis, as pungency is too much for their sensitive noses.

 

[Stella_Omega]

But they don't see color as well as women or gay men. Honestly.

Women also have a more sensitive sense of smell, apparently, or so says this study: "Experts say many studies show women out perform men in olfactory (sense of smell) sensitivity." BBC News It seems to be due to estrogen as there's no difference in male/female nose structures. I recall watching a documentary where a male-to-female transexual said this his sense of smell grew more acute with the hormones.

In other words, for a woman to have a man remember her perfume she's going to have to wear it often and make sure it's not too subtle. This also explains why some guys like a woman who hasn't, er, washed--too clean and the guy can't smell the girl. Women, on the other hand, are are more likely to ask guys to shower on a daily basis, as pungency is too much for their sensitive noses.

Well, that's a general generality, of course... I like a stinky body.

The Old Man's stomach turns when he smells flowery perfumes-- or Nag Champa incense, dammit.

 

[fifty5]

Hi,

I have a story idea that's been running through my mind which I wanted to try writing from a male pov. And I've found it really difficult, a lot harder than I thought. At the moment, I've sidelined it until I decide whether to continue or not, but it's made me wonder if there are many women who write successfully from a male pov? Perhaps under a male nym, I'm not sure. Has anyone here tried it? Or does anyone have any recommendations of stories I could read for inspiration? Thanks.

::fg::

I hesitate to say it, but look at my story After the Show I wouldn't push it except for some of the comments, particularly "Dances effortlessly between POVs" - and since that's from Imp, I have to believe it. That has 3 POVs, 1 male, 2 female. The guy just wants to get it on (that was me). He's been working for that since before the story begins. One of the females harks back to a long standing yen for her sister - she's got history. The other female is largely just carried along by events, but subject to inter-sibling rivalry (and more history) plus appreciation for the guy's sense of humour, not his sexiness. I don't claim credit for thought, just for intuition, but those factors do seem to illustrate the gender differences I've observed.

Hope that's useful.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

But they don't see color as well as women or gay men. Honestly.

I'm color blind, so that is definitely true for me. When I look at a traffic light I see red, orange, white. I have played in poker tournaments where the red and dark green chips are almost indistinguishable, as well as the light green and light orange chips are completely the same to me. Brown and green are dark and light variants of the same color as far as my brain is concerned.

 

[rachlou]

But they don't see color as well as women or gay men. Honestly.

Women also have a more sensitive sense of smell, apparently, or so says this study: "Experts say many studies show women out perform men in olfactory (sense of smell) sensitivity." BBC News It seems to be due to estrogen as there's no difference in male/female nose structures. I recall watching a documentary where a male-to-female transexual said this his sense of smell grew more acute with the hormones.

In other words, for a woman to have a man remember her perfume she's going to have to wear it often and make sure it's not too subtle. This also explains why some guys like a woman who hasn't, er, washed--too clean and the guy can't smell the girl. Women, on the other hand, are are more likely to ask guys to shower on a daily basis, as pungency is too much for their sensitive noses.

I recall reading somewhere that Napolean preferred a smellier Josephine, as he had allegedly written to her before his return home requesting that she didn't bathe before he arrived.

I on the other hand prefer my partners CLEAN! Any whiff of something less than hygienic, I won't go there.

 

[finalgirl]

Thank you so much for your advice, everyone! It's been a great help and I'm extremely grateful to you all for taking the time to reply. In retrospect, I should have been more specific about what exactly it is I'm struggling with. So here goes.

Well, the first thing I should explain is it's my very first attempt at writing a story, and I've come to the conclusion that it's probably too ambitious a storyline, since it's a non-consensual/rape fantasy. I had the idea of trying to write it from the male(s) POV, but the trouble is I always end up seeing it from my own and I just can't get into a cold and calculating enough mindset. <sigh> I've tried, believe me! But as much as I'd like to, I think it would be more believable if I wrote it from my own perspective. More comfortable with that. I'm just not sure I can pull off the darkly malevolent aspect accurately enough.

So, it's still sidelined for the moment until I make up my mind one way or the other. And meantime I think I'll try something a little less ambitious! Thanks again for your help everyone, I really do appreciate it.

 

[fifty5]

It's just my own opinion - and of course that reflects my own values - but I think it would be a better story if written as you feel: from the victim's point of view.

As a writer, I can see the attraction of writing it from the rapist's POV - the challenge, and maybe generating sympathy for the poor, twisted, sick individual who is the aggressor, but I'll take a lot of convincing that that is - in a wider sense - a worthwhile goal. Rape is wrong. Rape is wrong. Rape is wrong.

And I speak as one who, within marriage, once raped my wife (I misunderstood the message she was sending as a game, when it really wasn't).

Go with your inclination. That's a much more moral story to write.

 

[SlickTony]

Five of my stories are from a male POV. I don't recall trying to do much of anything besides making sure I got the nuts and bolts part right. I mainly thought of them as people who happened to be men. I've never had any of my readers tell me that such-and-such "didn't work" or "no guy would have done that."

 

[emap]

Final actually your kinda missing something. Namely, men don't really think, normally not a bad thing mind, but really when they decide to do something, that's all the thinking involved.

What I'm saying is, don't think about what he is thinking or how to make him a cold calculating rapist, simply set it up with he sees a hot lady, decides she is his next victim and then show how he gets her. Once he finishes most likely he'll have a thought or two but otherwise that is it.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

While I was trying to fall asleep last night I remembered something that I feel I should bring to everyone's attention. I don't like male P.O.V. stories when written by men. Their characters are a bunch of assholes that I can't connect with. They skip over the good parts of a sex scene ignoring all the fun bits (I'd be guilty of this if all of my stories weren't third person), they cut everything down to the bare basics and toss the rest, and just don't know what they are doing (for the most part). Usually, when I see a male P.O.V. story, I stop reading after the first few paragraphs because it is either too boring or too aggravating* to continue.

I prefer when women do it.









I could have sworn it was spelled aggrivating, learn something new every day

 

[Stella_Omega]

While I was trying to fall asleep last night I remembered something that I feel I should bring to everyone's attention. I don't like male P.O.V. stories when written by men. Their characters are a bunch of assholes that I can't connect with. They skip over the good parts of a sex scene ignoring all the fun bits (I'd be guilty of this if all of my stories weren't third person), they cut everything down to the bare basics and toss the rest, and just don't know what they are doing (for the most part). Usually, when I see a male P.O.V. story, I stop reading after the first few paragraphs because it is either too boring or too aggravating* to continue.

I prefer when women do it.









I could have sworn it was spelled aggrivating, learn something new every day

Well, you are reading from an amateur site, of course... I would be willing to say that you've defined the mistakes that male writers make. Women writers' mistakes go in the opposite direction, I remember my first attempts!

We have some fantastic writers here, who happen to be men. All the same, this is so generally true that the published erotica field is now, basically, produced by women.