What do female writers think about males writing from a female POV?

[DaddyAnal1966]

I’m told that I can be quite in touch with my female side (by people who never read Club Emily I guess), but what do women writers think when they read a work where the narrator is a female, but the author is a male?

All of my work is like that. Does it grate? Do you think “why the fuck does he think he can express what having my clit licked feels like?”.

I kinda worry that I am overlaying what things feel like from a male POV onto my female protagonist. Not that I am wholly against overlaying my female protagonist of course!

 

[JuanaSalsa]

When I read an author I know is male, I like reading from the male point of view. A lot of the time, when I read I'm more interested in how the authors thoughts and beliefs shape their story than the story itself.

It can be difficult for me to get engaged in a story written by a male from a female point of view because I know it's more abstracted from their identity. It would work for me, I think, if the author was bi or gay and thus had their own actual sexual interests to build on, but that's rare.

I think if the story is not sexual at all it matters less to me. I was fully satisfied with Pratchett's Tiffany Aching series for example.

But, that's just one point of view. And, this opinion does not stop from writing from a male point of view, as I really like to write from inside the head of both people in a relationship a lot of the time. I know some of my readers hate that- it's been said. But oh well. A lot like it too.

Just write for you, unless you're trying to make money, then might make sense care about popular reader preferences. But for a hobby? Write what makes you happy.

 

[DaddyAnal1966]

When I read an author I know is male, I like reading from the male point of view. A lot of the time, when I read I'm more interested in how the authors thoughts and beliefs shape their story than the story itself.

It can be difficult for me to get engaged in a story written by a male from a female point of view because I know it's more abstracted from their identity. It would work for me, I think, if the author was bi or gay and thus had their own actual sexual interests to build on, but that's rare.

I think if the story is not sexual at all it matters less to me. I was fully satisfied with Pratchett's Tiffany Aching series for example.

But, that's just one point of view. And, this opinion does not stop from writing from a male point of view, as I really like to write from inside the head of both people in a relationship a lot of the time. I know some of my readers hate that- it's been said. But oh well. A lot like it too.

Just write for you, unless you're trying to make money, then might make sense care about popular reader preferences. But for a hobby? Write what makes you happy.

Thanks for the reply and I do write for myself.

What I don’t want however is to piss off any women readers - nothing worse than “well he seems to think he knows what it’s like to have a cock deep in your pussy, but he clearly has no clue”.

I quite like women and - as the saying goes - some of my best friends are female ;-).

I did wonder whether to reach out to a female author about co-writing, as a education for me on female feelings, but I guess that might be a difficult trick to pull off.

 

[JuanaSalsa]

Thanks for the reply and I do write for myself.

What I don’t want however is to piss off any women readers - nothing worse than “well he seems to think he knows what it’s like to have a cock deep in your pussy, but he clearly has no clue”.

I quite like women and - as the saying goes - some of my best friends are female ;-).

I did wonder whether to reach out to a female author about co-writing, as a education for me on female feelings, but I guess that might be a difficult trick to pull off.

Interesting. I don't worry about pissing off male (or female) readers. Some will be pissed, I take that as a given and move on.

The closest I came to worrying about being unintentionally hurtful was when I considered writing a story with a trans character. I thought I'd ask for someone trans to do a beta read if I actually wrote that story. Of course, it'd still be just one person's pov on it and there'd still be pissed off readers.

 

[DaddyAnal1966]

You are right of course. Maybe I shouldn’t worry .

 

[gunhilltrain]

You are right of course. Maybe I shouldn’t worry .

Oh, Padawan refers to an apprentice of a Jedi master. I had to look that one up. Well, might as well identify with something dramatic.

Whatever you write is probably going to piss off someone. It might have nothing to do with gender or sexual orientation. If might be about your writing style, your plot, or some fetish they find icky (ignoring their own fetishes, of course).

I would hope that we are all adults here. But with tens of thousands (?) of readers, you will eventually see just about everything in the comments. That's if you even get comments. For me, if I get a decent number of views (not like 900, which I have on a story that's been up for two months) and a decent score (I'd define that as above a 4.00, but I've missed that many times) then I'm satisfied.

 

[DaddyAnal1966]

My fetishes are certainly ones that will upset some people. I guess I should just get used to it .

 

[DaddyAnal1966]

I do that character substitution all the time .

Can you recommend any good female authors?

 

[JuanaSalsa]

I do that character substitution all the time .

Can you recommend any good female authors?

@Erozetta is an excellent female author

 

[DaddyAnal1966]

@Erozetta is an excellent female author

Sorry if that was an insulting question to her. I’m new round here!

 

[SimonDoom]

Also reading guys who write women well is another good way to learn.

This might be a great way to answer the OP's question. Ask women authors to name male authors that they think write women characters well, or do a good job narrating from a woman's POV.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Let’s extend the argument inherent in the original question - can anyone write outside of one’s own personal experience?

If men shouldn’t write female characters because they have no idea of what it is like to be female, surely that cuts both ways, with women in turn limited to writing only female characters.

Extending it logically, whites shouldn’t write about blacks, nor blacks about asians, nor asians about…

Straight people shouldn’t write bi or gay characters, nor vice versa.

The elderly might be able to write young characters because they were once young themselves, but not the other way around. Actually, no, because being a teen these days is way more complicated than it was 50 years ago.

Rural-urban? Nope. Somebody in Nebraska cannot write about life in Los Angeles and a Londoner should refrain from writing anyone Scottish.

Carry it on - eventually, you wind up only being able to publish your own darned diary and that’s just silly.

Write who and what you wish. The important thing is to do it with sensitivity.

 

[Lifestyle66]

Let’s extend the argument inherent in the original question - can anyone write outside of one’s own personal experience?

If men shouldn’t write female characters because they have no idea of what it is like to be female, surely that cuts both ways, with women in turn limited to writing only female characters.

Extending it logically, whites shouldn’t write about blacks, nor blacks about asians, nor asians about…

Straight people shouldn’t write bi or gay characters, nor vice versa.

The elderly might be able to write young characters because they were once young themselves, but not the other way around. Actually, no, because being a teen these days is way more complicated than it was 50 years ago.

Rural-urban? Nope. Somebody in Nebraska cannot write about life in Los Angeles and a Londoner should refrain from writing anyone Scottish.

Carry it on - eventually, you wind up only being able to publish your own darned diary and that’s just silly.

Write who and what you wish. The important thing is to do it with sensitivity.

Taken to the extreme, no author here on Literotica should write any sex scene, unless they have personally experienced it!

 

[DaddyAnal1966]

Let’s extend the argument inherent in the original question - can anyone write outside of one’s own personal experience?

If men shouldn’t write female characters because they have no idea of what it is like to be female, surely that cuts both ways, with women in turn limited to writing only female characters.

Extending it logically, whites shouldn’t write about blacks, nor blacks about asians, nor asians about…

Straight people shouldn’t write bi or gay characters, nor vice versa.

The elderly might be able to write young characters because they were once young themselves, but not the other way around. Actually, no, because being a teen these days is way more complicated than it was 50 years ago.

Rural-urban? Nope. Somebody in Nebraska cannot write about life in Los Angeles and a Londoner should refrain from writing anyone Scottish.

Carry it on - eventually, you wind up only being able to publish your own darned diary and that’s just silly.

Write who and what you wish. The important thing is to do it with sensitivity.

I support the general point you are making. However, as a human it is easier for me to stand in the shoes of what a woman might be thinking or feeling because - despite how much we try to pretend male and female are different - we are pretty much the same (not identical, just very close).

But, it’s hard for me to describe what it feels like to have an erect penis slide into your vagina because, well I don’t have a vagina. I know what it feels like to have my cock slide into any number of orifices, but that’s not the same.

It’s a very narrow point I am making, not a broad one.

 

[SimonDoom]

I support the general point you are making. However, as a human it is easier for me to stand in the shoes of what a woman might be thinking or feeling because - despite how much we try to pretend male and female are different - we are pretty much the same (not identical, just very close).

But, it’s hard for me to describe what it feels like to have an erect penis slide into your vagina because, well I don’t have a vagina. I know what it feels like to have my cock slide into any number of orifices, but that’s not the same.

It’s a very narrow point I am making, not a broad one.

Research. Just do some research. Read stories by women authors. Read about what they say it feels like to have a penis slide into a vagina. With search engines you can find out the answer to just about anything.

Personally, I think people exaggerate how hard this is. With a modest imagination and a little effort I think one can do just fine in writing a story from the perspective of a completely different person.

 

[Lifestyle66]

I support the general point you are making. However, as a human it is easier for me to stand in the shoes of what a woman might be thinking or feeling because - despite how much we try to pretend male and female are different - we are pretty much the same (not identical, just very close).

But, it’s hard for me to describe what it feels like to have an erect penis slide into your vagina because, well I don’t have a vagina. I know what it feels like to have my cock slide into any number of orifices, but that’s not the same.

It’s a very narrow point I am making, not a broad one.

But can you realistically write a scene where your wife is going down on another woman, while she's being fucked from behind? Or a scene where you have two women going down on you, while your wife is being gangbanged on the other side of the room? How do you accurately describe either of those unless you've "been there, done that"?

 

[DaddyAnal1966]

Taken to the extreme, no author here on Literotica should write any sex scene, unless they have personally experienced it!

That’s kinda my point.

I HAVE experienced most aspects of what I write about (not with family members I hasten to add). A lot of what happens in my stories is based on personal experience, though obviously I sometimes spin off to fantasy extremes (I have never been attached to a machine that feeds me my own urine for example (poor Emily).

Two scenarios:

1. I know what it feels like to receive corporal punishment (and to give it) AND I assume it’s pretty much the same for either a guy or gal

2. I can only guess what it feels like to have my pussy fucked until I cum; I’m not equipped to fully understand it.

It’s an anatomically-based concern, not a philosophical-based one.

 

[DaddyAnal1966]

Research. Just do some research. Read stories by women authors. Read about what they say it feels like to have a penis slide into a vagina. With search engines you can find out the answer to just about anything.

Personally, I think people exaggerate how hard this is. With a modest imagination and a little effort I think one can do just fine in writing a story from the perspective of a completely different person.

I have embarked on this course, which was suggested above. I hope for illumination .

 

[DaddyAnal1966]

But can you realistically write a scene where your wife is going down on another woman, while she's being fucked from behind? Or a scene where you have two women going down on you, while your wife is being gangbanged on the other side of the room? How do you accurately describe either of those unless you've "been there, done that"?

Um…

I have never been part of or witnessed a gang-bang. But the rest…

It’s perhaps not always the precise personnel you reference. But, as I say, most of what I write has some basis in experience, including the fetish and BDSM elements (though mostly milder versions of what I write I will admit). I’m not that imaginative.

 

[JuanaSalsa]

2. I can only guess what it feels like to have my pussy fucked until I cum; I’m not equipped to fully understand it.

It’s an anatomically-based concern, not a philosophical-based one.

When I write from a man's point of view I pretend that a penis is basically a ginormous clit and write like it experiences the same sorts of sensations with the same stimulus. I also have a male editor, and he usually doesn't have a problem with my anatomical descriptions.

Still, not all bodies experience stimulus the same way. The way I cum isn't universal, but I focus more on sensations I enjoy in my writing than what other women would.

As for vaginas, I might suggest imagining it as an inverted scrotum and go from there. Feels good to have balls licked, but too much dry rubbing is not so good.

 

[Lifestyle66]

Um…

I have never been part of or witnessed a gang-bang. But the rest…

It’s perhaps not always the precise personnel you reference. But, as I say, most of what I write has some basis in experience, including the fetish and BDSM elements (though mostly milder versions of what I write I will admit). I’m not that imaginative.

I think the best stories would come from authors who can mix, match, and extrapolate from personal experiences. After all, how many virgin celibate priests could write a heterosexual sex scene with feeling?

In deference to Simon, research can do a lot to prepare when writing a new scene. But I think Hemingway found that living life to the fullest gave his writing the extra sparks of experience when needed.

 

[JuanSeiszFitzHall]

I'm an old cis het white urban American. I don't have personal experience beyond that. But I have spent many years asking people questions, and listening to their answers. It has been my privilege to be intimate with many women, some of whom have been willing to express their experiences and desires. I try to draw upon what they have told me, in all of my writing--including my stories on Lit with female main characters.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Imagination is the thing, imagination based on empathetic listening to those outside one’s own inevitably circumscribed world. Without that, we are all as the fable of the blind men describing and elephant: ‘An elephant is like a snake!’ ‘No, an elephant is like a tree!’ ‘No, indeed, an elephant is like a wall!”

 

[Lifestyle66]

Imagination is the thing, imagination based on empathetic listening to those outside one’s own inevitably circumscribed world. Without that, we are all as the fable of the blind men describing and elephant: ‘An elephant is like a snake!’ ‘No, an elephant is like a tree!’ ‘No, indeed, an elephant is like a wall!”

Imagination, reading, and research can provide a great deal of information for a good writer to use in their stories.

But the blind man seeking the opportunity to actually embrace and feel an elephant might make his next descriptive effort more realistic. Of course, he might die trying, but: "no risk, no gain!"

 

[jeanne_d_artois]

I am an oggbashan alt that he created to write from a female POV.

At first, I didn't admit I was oggbashan and my stories got a reasonable response (and I got some unwanted male attention possibly because of my avatar).

I came out as oggbashan on April 1st and have admitted that I am og's alt from then on.