That's no way for a gentleman to behave!

[TheRedChamber]

So we did the female version of this thread last week. It's time to revisit it for the men.

I'm asking for a general discussion of what behaviour you think is attractive in male characters and how the men in your stories behave. Copying the questions from last week.

1) Do you have any kinds of general behavious that your male characters gravitate towards?
2) How do you view drunken, crude, loutish, drug-use, violent behaviour? Do your men cuss like sailors (In or out of the bedroom) or do they hold to standards of behaviour that even an Victorian Finishing School ma'am would find unrealistic? the pickiest Jane Austen heroine would be unable to fault.
3) Even if you are writing characters who are unleashed with regards to Q2, do you like your male characters to be fundamentally good or are you happy to have your women hook up with boys who are bad-to-the-bone.
4) How do readers react to your characters? Are there any types of behaviour that get complaints?

And, as the bonus question, how far apart, if at all, are the behaviours of your male and female characters?

 

[Djmac1031]

Most of my men are decent guys, who treat the women they interact with respectfully.

Ive had a couple creepy guys as side characters for conflict, but they're not major players per say.

Ive only ever written one lead male character so despicable I wound up writing an alternative ending to the story to change the perspective of his actions.

Oh, and then there was this Christmas story about an elf with a big dick and a bad coke habit.

But generally my male characters are extensions of me in one way or another, so I try not to make them too depraved.

 

[MrPixel]

1) The MMC in my big story is kind, generous, considerate, friendly, confident, intelligent, learned, wise, loving, edgy-sexy, appreciative, a trusted counselor. IOW, impossible, but I write him that way anyway. His partner is a nice guy, too, and comfortable in his role playing second fiddle. Other guys are typically "just guys", though some are notable as gentlemen.

2) Two MCs were obnoxious louts who stirred the shit and were summarily shown the door. First was just an arrogant ass, the second thought he could steal the FMC away from the MMC, and she, using her position of authority, sent him packing. There was minor mention that the FMC hung-out with druggies in her younger years, and they would get her high and abuse her. One passing MC rapes the FMC in an upcoming installment. So, yeah, I write a few bad-asses into the stories.

3) My ladies, demure or edgy, know what a quality man is about and tend to put the baddies in their place once they reveal their true character.

4) My main story gets no comments. My short stories, mostly about a mature swinger couple, the guy receives the usual insults and putdowns from the usual crowd.

Bonus) Not too much divergence or dissonance between the MMCs and FMCs. Side characters are all over the map.

 

[nice90sguy]

I try not to write caricatures, unless I'm strictly going for comedy.

I was brought up in a family with domestic abuse (not towards me) and my stories are attempts to exorcise the abuser in me. So my male characters aren't usually "nice guys".

As "nice90sguy", which I chose as an ironic pen-name, I write stories where men wield power over women, simply because that's how the world is, and how that needs to change.

nice90sguy's stories are written from male POV, based closely based on me. He's self-critical, a bully, a gambler, a sex addict, weak, loving, horny, occasionally charming, spiteful, cold, funny, arrogant, selfish and generous. Likeable, maybe not, but real, definitely.

 

[Bramblethorn]

So we did the female version of this thread last week. It's time to revisit it for the men.

I'm asking for a general discussion of what behaviour you think is attractive in male characters and how the men in your stories behave. Copying the questions from last week.

My male characters tend to be supporting cast, some sympathetic but rarely objects of attraction. Or at least, not for the protagonist; Aleks from "Stringed Instrument" is a strong candidate for having a revolving door fitted to his bedroom. The main male protagonist I've written was Tim in "The Floggings Will Continue", and he's only just a protagonist - so much of that story is driven by the female characters around him, and I didn't go very far in exploring why one of those characters is attracted to him. So some of this will be more a "here's how I might..." response than about stories I've posted here.

1) Do you have any kinds of general behavious that your male characters gravitate towards?

Mostly they're secondary characters who have the personalities the story requires of them, and that varies according to the story, so I don't think there's much of a standard "type". Some are assholes, some are just That Housemate Who Somehow Gets More Sex Than Me, some are supportive friends and voices of reason. Some are complicated people - RJ from "Stringed Instrument" is homophobic in the casual sort of way that a lot of people are, but he cares about his daughter and he tries to do right by his ex even though he doesn't quite get why she left, and in the end those things are more important to him than the homophobia.

2) How do you view drunken, crude, loutish, drug-use, violent behaviour?

I would separate those things.

Drug use, including alcohol: depends very much on the specifics. It's generally not my thing, but I'm not puritanical about what other people do unless it starts creating problems. That depends very much on the person.

Crudity: depends on whether it's aggressive, or just crude. Some of the nicest and smartest people I know love making fart jokes. I don't swear much but I respect people who do it creatively.

Violence: IRL, obviously something I'd avoid. In fiction, depends a lot on the role of that violence in the story. "Testosterone poisoned dude beats the crap out of other dudes" is boring. But something like "A History of Violence", where somebody with a propensity to violence has recognised that this isn't how he wants to live and is trying to change that, that can make for an interesting male character.

Do your men cuss like sailors (In or out of the bedroom) or do they hold to standards of behaviour that even an Victorian Finishing School ma'am would find unrealistic? the pickiest Jane Austen heroine would be unable to fault.
3) Even if you are writing characters who are unleashed with regards to Q2, do you like your male characters to be fundamentally good or are you happy to have your women hook up with boys who are bad-to-the-bone.

I'm generally not very interested in "he's an asshole but good in bed" as a relationship. For me, "person with flaws working to be good" makes for a much more satisfying story.

 

[SimonDoom]

Interesting question. It depends a lot on whether the primary character is a man or a woman.

If the primary character is a man, then he's usually more or less a good guy, but he may have some edgy qualities since my stories often feature "good" people doing naughty things. He probably has inclinations toward voyeurism, control, or sadism, since these are themes I like to explore. For some readers these qualities can seem too much, or unappealing.

When the man is the main character, then a woman is probably the object of desire (although I'm working on a gay male story, so we'll see how that goes). I seldom portray women characters as villains, although Snow White is an exception to that. Sometimes another man will be either a friend/supporter of the main character, or a foil or villain -- like a loutish inattentive husband whose son is pursuing Mom. The inattentive husband is a common theme in my incest and exhibitionist stories. I think it's because I like to portray the kinky behavior, whether it's consensual incest or exhibitionism or extramarital sexual behavior, in a sympathetic and fun light, and the loutish, inattentive husband is a good stock character for that.

When the woman is the main character, then a man probably is the object of desire, although he may be the pursuer rather than the pursued. He may have some aggressive or Dom-ish qualities that turn some readers off. Again, the bad husband may be in the story as a foil and quasi-villain.

I've had some readers who reacted negatively to my male characters, describing some of them as assholes. That was kind of the point, but to some readers it seems to be a turn off.

 

[Seadog777]

I do not have a set of criteria for any of my characters whether they are male or female.

I simply write whatever pops into my crazy ass, country, redneck mind

 

[LongDraw]

My series, VY: A Beginning And An End, has male characters of several walks of life. MC is respectful loving husband who has a few minor faults. His father-in-law is also married, but is more on the closet kinky side. The brother-in-law is more of the still maturing, class clown. Then there's a minor character from Chicago that is more of the bad boy, pompous playa, partly because of how he is mistreated by other characters more recently.

 

[oneagainst]

Just lining up a story where the MMC is an actual psychopath. God, it was a fun write. Let's see if we get to a HEA on that one....

 

[EdwardsOtherSide]

Generally, I aim for a slightly kinky "Daddy energy" type of guy.
Not a lot of profanity, persuasive not coercive, capable of violence but not wantonly cruel - protective not abusive, competent at knot tying, and I try to insert a little humor.
Responses have generally been good.

This having been said... I had one male protagonist I loathed. He was everything I find despicable in men today.
It was... darkly fun to write. One proofreader had to be coaxed a bit to get past the first bit, but once he was being treated as he deserved, I was told I was a feminist (not at all the response I expected, and from her, high praise).
The responses seemed mixed. Noone left a negative comment, but early on the ratings seemed to be 5 stars or 1 star, with nothing in the middle.

 

[Emilymcplugger]

So we did the female version of this thread last week. It's time to revisit it for the men.

I'm asking for a general discussion of what behaviour you think is attractive in male characters and how the men in your stories behave. Copying the questions from last week.

1) Do you have any kinds of general behavious that your male characters gravitate towards?
2) How do you view drunken, crude, loutish, drug-use, violent behaviour? Do your men cuss like sailors (In or out of the bedroom) or do they hold to standards of behaviour that even an Victorian Finishing School ma'am would find unrealistic? the pickiest Jane Austen heroine would be unable to fault.
3) Even if you are writing characters who are unleashed with regards to Q2, do you like your male characters to be fundamentally good or are you happy to have your women hook up with boys who are bad-to-the-bone.
4) How do readers react to your characters? Are there any types of behaviour that get complaints?

And, as the bonus question, how far apart, if at all, are the behaviours of your male and female characters?

Well, in the first story the guy was an asshole that let down his wife, was suckered into being an asshole and ultimately caused the death of his own relationship, takes drugs to realise it, dominates his ex and engages in BDSM to make her his again…other than that he was pretty decent.

In the new one the guy is a workaholic commitment-phobe that cheats on his missus then has a go at her for infidelity as well…other than that he’s quite a stand-up guy.

Wait-a-minute, these guys are total bellends!

I guess that’s what makes characters interesting…their flaws.