Wanted female co-author....?

[lovecraft68]

Not so much a writing thread as an opinion. We've all seen these threads. Someone is looking for a co-author and they have to be female.

Do you think the person really wants it to be a female because they think only a female can write the part of a woman?

Or do you think its geared towards getting a female author into a bit of a role play and having them write the "dirty parts"

second part of the question. Do you think many of the over(and under) sexed male readers and posters on the boards always perceive female authors as being perpetually horny women who all look like porn stars and write wearing only a thong and only use one hand while playing sticky finger with the other?

Third question.

Do you think they would really know?

Last and not least which of you male authors think you could fool them?

 

[sunandshadow]

Boring answer: this happens because of the inaccurate cultural idea "men can never really understand women". (Sometimes you see the opposite, women can never really understand men, but it's less prevalent.) Inexperienced writers of both genders sometimes feels that they are incapable of writing from the viewpoint of an opposite gender character and not making it sound horribly unrealistic.

That said, the idea of getting someone to roleplay one of your characters is often tempting to writers. But, chances are really high that they will do it all wrong.

 

[lovecraft68]

Boring answer: this happens because of the inaccurate cultural idea "men can never really understand women". (Sometimes you see the opposite, women can never really understand men, but it's less prevalent.) Inexperienced writers of both genders sometimes feels that they are incapable of writing from the viewpoint of an opposite gender character and not making it sound horribly unrealistic.

That said, the idea of getting someone to roleplay one of your characters is often tempting to writers. But, chances are really high that they will do it all wrong.

Confidence.

That is an excellent point.

For some reason the first half dozen things I wrote were all female POV. I can't say I'm that convincing as a woman. I'm sure I'm not "fooling" everyone, but I've never let that stop me from writing from whatever gender I think the story should be told from.

 

[HeyAll]

I think the reason male author's ask is because they want to appeal to female readers. They're perception is that their work mostly appeals to horny men who just want something quick & dirty to read. Being a man, they don't want that. They want to get women off. Their belief is that only women can get women off.

Put 2 and 2 together, if they have a woman co-write, then there will be a shift in audience, and the male author will get emails from all kinds of soccer moms telling him how much they love his work.

That's my opinion anyway, whenever I see a guy asking for a female co-author.

2) I think the majority of horny male readers view female authors as the soccer mom types, as opposed to porn star looks.

3) I think any 'good' male author can fool the reader into thinking that he's a woman. For some of my stories told in 3rd person, people thought I was a female, and I've gotten several pm's from men thinking I was a woman. I've also seen several comments on other stories thinking the main character was a woman.

Heck, I've read stories where I thought the writer was a woman, but it was a man.

I think if I switched my profile from 'male' to 'female', I'd get tons of private messages.

 

[StrangeLife]

I suspect this kind of gender-specific requests could simply be a veiled attempt at getting in contact with female writers for flirting or masturbatory purposes.

 

[MrFoxwood]

It could be that they want someone to write with and feel weird about discussing ideas with another guy. At least that'd probably be my reason. However, I suspect that my unwillingness to watch porn with other guys and my lack of appreciation of the immense fun to (apparently) be had in communal showers following sports, paint me as an abnormal guy.

 

[lovecraft68]

I suspect this kind of gender-specific requests could simply be a veiled attempt at getting in contact with female writers for flirting or masturbatory purposes.

I am pretty much pf that school of thought.

I've been tempted to create and alt and answer one of these and see where it goes, but I wouldn't want to lie to someone like that.

It would be funny though if they were just perving and asked for pics.

 

[stickygirl]

I suspect this kind of gender-specific requests could simply be a veiled attempt at getting in contact with female writers for flirting or masturbatory purposes.

Agreed
I think their intention is to get inside the mind of a woman, possibly whack off whilst doing it, in the belief that they will somehow improve their understanding of "de Myshteriesh ov zer Female Mind" and thus improve their chances of getting laid in real life.

Male readers/writers are always horny and hope they will meet their alter ego .

Provided a "female" writer threw him a few PMs saying "I'm sorry, I can't write tonight because, well, I just feel a little under the weather. I know you'll understand" or "You might come across as all macho, but I'm picking up the sensitive side of you" or even "Jeez, I'm so horny tonight I swear my monitor is steaming up. LOL. Could we skip the writing tonight xx" would probably convince most.

Maybe - it depends how much female the male writer has in them.

I find writing too personal to share, but plenty people do seem to be able to write collaboratively: screen writers, comedy writers but I just think it could end up writing-by-numbers.

 

[MrFoxwood]

I think if I switched my profile from 'male' to 'female', I'd get tons of private messages.

I've done that, not here though. It wasn't anything nefarious, just an account claiming I was female in order to get more/better answers to my questions, it worked.

The thing is, the majority of the people you're trying to convince will already have an idea of how they think/want a female to sound, and the chances are good their preconceptions are the same as those you held when you were smaller and grubbier. It's a memory exercise.

 

[LadyVer]

From an editing perspective, I've had a lot of male authors ask me to edit because they wanted a female perspective. Along with copy editing, they want to know if their female characters sound female. I would guess that 98% of these authors wanted exactly what they said wanted. And most of the time their female characters were written well.

Now, there are certain things some writers have their female characters saying that I don't agree with, and I think a lot of writers, male and female, write their female characters telling their male partner to "Fuck the shit out of me." This annoys me no end because it's just not something I would ever tell a partner, nor do I see it as something erotic to tell a partner. But the few men who had asked for my opinion about their work from a female perspective and wrote this way assured me that their female friends/partners talk this way. Maybe it's a generational thing. Or I live in a cave.

 

[TxRad]

According to how the request for a female writing partner comes across, yeah, most are looking for a playmate. Especially when they only have one or two posts.

I had a female writing partner here in the AH for a while. She was outed in real life and had to bail, I'm sorry to say. Her sense of humor and mine meshed so well. I had a semi comical piece of writing going but the female character sounded flat in several places and didn't ring true in others. I asked her to read it. The next thing I know, we're making changes on Google and having a ball. Which reminds me, I need to go check it out and see how it's doing. That is if I remember the name and password.

I also have a female alt that I write under. Mostly for the lesbian category but she (The Muse she provokes) has a different sense of humor and I have a series I've been working on for several years. I have three very large stories finished and another couple under construction. They just wouldn't go with my name. She has her own voice.

ETA: Holy smokes, it has a 4.74 score.

 

[HeyAll]

A part of me also thinks it's because they view male readers as horny perverts who just want to read the sex parts. On the other hand, they view female readers and more intelligent readers of erotic stories.

Therefor, their stories will be more dignified and get the recognition they deserve if the audience has more females reading it.

 

[stickygirl]

Now, there are certain things some writers have their female characters saying that I don't agree with, and I think a lot of writers, male and female, write their female characters telling their male partner to "Fuck the shit out of me." This annoys me no end because it's just not something I would ever tell a partner, nor do I see it as something erotic to tell a partner. But the few men who had asked for my opinion about their work from a female perspective and wrote this way assured me that their female friends/partners talk this way. Maybe it's a generational thing. Or I live in a cave.

I think your cave sounds lovely and no, it's not generational

 

[MSTarot]

Probably a few are wanting a roleplay partner.

But that is not necessarily making their request not about writing. Maybe they need to roleplay out a scene with a woman to get that 'female' perspective for their story's leading lady.

I've read more than a few things to my wife asking her if this sounds too manish.

All female writers don't sit around sipping champagne, wearing the Victoria Secret catalog, looking like goddess of sex as they write? I'm shocked by the very concept.

Given all the PMs I get with request for a little 'private' time I damn well know I can fool a few. All without even trying and with my profile clearly stating I'm a man.

Been told the MS before Tarot is misleading. Well, it should be M.S.Tarot but when I tried that I got told no punctuation.

So not really my fault.

My original try for a name here didn't work, MSTarot was my second choice. I've thought several times about creating an alt. just so I have a place to put darker stories than what I write normally. But I still want that 'first' choice name. Evilchilde.

Got told you can't use childe as part of a name. Was not wanting it as 'Child" meaning young person but "Childe" as in a young vampire. Wanted to, at the time, do a whole vampire avatar theme.

Sorry, I'm rambling.

 

[StrangeLife]

Now, there are certain things some writers have their female characters saying that I don't agree with, and I think a lot of writers, male and female, write their female characters telling their male partner to "Fuck the shit out of me." This annoys me no end because it's just not something I would ever tell a partner, nor do I see it as something erotic to tell a partner. But the few men who had asked for my opinion about their work from a female perspective and wrote this way assured me that their female friends/partners talk this way. Maybe it's a generational thing. Or I live in a cave.

It's actually not unusual, although I suspect that some women do it because they are under the impression that men expect them to. If they've seen it in porn movies surely it must be true, right?

Personally I find it slightly annoying...

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I was just starting and attempted my first romance(only romance) type story. After reading several on Lit I decided I needed help with the sex scenes. I asked on of the members here and she helped me with those scenes. I loved the way she wrote, yes it was a she, we met later at a Litogether in Chicago. I have attempted to emulate her style in subsequent writings, yet hers reads completely different.

Alas, I have never finished that story. But the chapters were worked on together did very well here at Lit. Both had the red 'H' for I took them down.

I have written several stories from the female POV and I know I didn't do such a great job. I may have done better under a different pen name. One that sounded more female, I'm sure.

Oh, I wasn't looking for a role play partner. Just some words from a female perspective.

 

[hoo_hoo_boo]

3) I think any 'good' male author can fool the reader into thinking that he's a woman. For some of my stories told in 3rd person, people thought I was a female, and I've gotten several pm's from men thinking I was a woman. I've also seen several comments on other stories thinking the main character was a woman.

Heck, I've read stories where I thought the writer was a woman, but it was a man.

I think if I switched my profile from 'male' to 'female', I'd get tons of private messages.[/QUOTE]

I thought one adopts the persona of the narrator. Some narrators are more challenging to write than others. Without a convincing narrator it isn't likely to be a good story. I don't think it matters a lot what gender the narrator is. It can be a lot of fun choosing one that is difficult and seeing how far it can go. The style can be quite unlike any other. I think it is a huge part of writing. If one has to get advice I don't see the narrator being sustained very well and the probability is the interest of story will collapse. I know when I have a narrator in mind it becomes a part of me until the story is done. I like stories that are different and the easiest way to create that for me is with a coherent, unusual narrator. Two people working together would struggle to do that I think. I have some times copied the way people do things and talk in my stories. It doesn't matter what their gender is, and they are my favourite stories

 

[lovecraft68]

When I really need the female pov my wife and I role play in r/l so I can get that from her and it works out well.

Its too bad more men and women were not as open with their S/O about their writing because you can get a lot of that perspective from that person.

 

[Desiremakesmeweak]

Wasn't going to say ANYTHING on this one...

And then there were a few spirits of writers rocking the boat just a little the more I declined. Agatha Christie, Virginia Woolf, Anne Rothermere, Hypatia, Sherharezade (real title Sharha-Zade btw, rather than her actual 'name').

Virginia Woolf in particular produced a stunning long novel - 'Orlando' - that involved a single individual who never really died but appeared sometimes as a male and sometimes as a female down through many succeeding 'usual' generations.

I think one of the truly great difficulties of 'writing or speaking with a female voicing' if you are a man, is that women are not by any means all the same! I mean there may be things that would be 'clangers' that most women would not normally say or think or do, but then, there are just as many ideosyncratic things that distinguish one woman from another...

Of those women who have responded to this thread so far, there appears to be a consensus that not many women would say 'fuck the s* out of me,' but I have to tell you that I have encountered that being said by several women - BUT, they were all I would say similar types of people, VERY VERY independent-minded, easily as strong-willed or non-fragile as any professional football team male athlete, had very solid careers of their own making, although none of that fully explains their complete personalities and temperaments. Now that I think about it, all of them had female-female involvements from time to time, and they are very very 'modern cultural' in their mindset. Not rooted in traditions at all. Not sure if that's any indicator. Yet, I can't say this is/was typical of women that I know on the whole; but it IS very typical of some women.

I have collaborated with a lot of women on a vast variety of projects in the commercial sphere, and I have been involved in stage and theatrical productions where some of the producer/directors were women.

Hey, look, when you take EROTICA writing, as the field of endeavour, I don't want to be collaborating with ANYONE WITHOUT there being a strong 'suggestion' that sex feelings and ideas are the most elementary part of the whole thing. Yes, there is the skill of 'good writing' let's say, as a fundamental requirement but this is NOT the reason I write erotica; I write erotica BECAUSE I am SPECIFICALLY exploring sex themes and some adult narrative or intricate idea that is going to tread all over potential sensitivities over intimacy.

My FIRST objective, were I to ask someone to assist, would be about the key ideas, something or some aspect to do with a response that could provide a special insight, more simply THEIR personal reaction rather than ONLY 'a woman's reaction' as such. But then secondarily, although I would expect a writer to have and maintain a writer's distance and objectivity, at the same time because of the nature of the theme it just wouldn't seem the authentic thing for me to do to keep or to want to keep personal sexual feelings out of it. Neither mine nor the other persons.

This whole question turns in my own mind around to the face of 'would I ask a gay male to collaborate on a gay story, because I don't think I'm personally particularly sexually attracted to most males...? Not to mention all the other small details to do with actual gay sex about which I only know stuff from friend who tell me...' That's a good question that I've never asked myself previously!

 

[JonB1969]

Not so much a writing thread as an opinion. We've all seen these threads. Someone is looking for a co-author and they have to be female.

Do you think the person really wants it to be a female because they think only a female can write the part of a woman?

Or do you think its geared towards getting a female author into a bit of a role play and having them write the "dirty parts"

second part of the question. Do you think many of the over(and under) sexed male readers and posters on the boards always perceive female authors as being perpetually horny women who all look like porn stars and write wearing only a thong and only use one hand while playing sticky finger with the other?

Third question.

Do you think they would really know?

Last and not least which of you male authors think you could fool them?

In answer to the last question, I think I could fool someone. I have been told in feedback from readers that I write as a woman very convincingly.

 

[Athalia]

Do you think the person really wants it to be a female because they think only a female can write the part of a woman?

As someone who has collaborated with a male author, mostly as editor but sometimes as co-writer, I've found that he mainly uses me as sort of a reality check, a woman who can highlight a passage and say "This doesn't ring true to me." Men can certainly write the part of a woman, and vice versa, but there are bound to be blind spots in their perceptions, and it helps to get a different perspective on things. I freely concede that most men now have a better handle on women's physiology and psychology than, say, your average Republican congressman, but you'd be surprised at how many stories leave me with the giggles when they don't mean to. Fantasy is fantasy, but there are limits.

Or do you think its geared towards getting a female author into a bit of a role play and having them write the "dirty parts"

And what's wrong with that? All writing is role play, isn't it? Usually it's just inside your head, with different characters playing different roles. If a writer can invite another writer into that head-space, more power to him or her. We do this for fun, you know.

That said, I don't know how many women actively solicit male co-writers and editors for this. It might be interesting to find out.

Do you think many of the over(and under) sexed male readers and posters on the boards always perceive female authors as being perpetually horny women who all look like porn stars and write wearing only a thong and only use one hand while playing sticky finger with the other?

Not the posters, but a few of the people who've written me come across that way. I've commented elsewhere on the shaky grip on reality these people seem to have. I point out that my characters are not me, but to not much avail. Thankfully, these readers seem to be in the minority.

Do you think they would really know?

I have no idea. Nor do I know if they really cared.

 

[patientlee]

All female writers don't sit around sipping champagne, wearing the Victoria Secret catalog, looking like goddess of sex as they write? I'm shocked by the very concept.

Don't forget the bon bons. There are always bon bons.

 

[lovecraft68]

All female writers don't sit around sipping champagne, wearing the Victoria Secret catalog, looking like goddess of sex as they write? I'm shocked by the very concept.

Because I write under a female pen name on a couple of sites and have a matching website I get a lot of e-mails telling me how hot my stories are...

Then telling me how hot I must be. Asking If I'm wet when I write.

One guy has asked repeatedly for pictures. Said he would give anything to see the face behind the stories.

One of these days I may just send him one

 

[SandraMustard]

I've always been tempted to send some image of an old naked hag.

 

[lovecraft68]

I've always been tempted to send some image of an old naked hag.

I was thinking of Linda Blair in full Exorcist make up.