I recently read an excellent novel called “Help for the Haunted.” It’s about two sisters, ages around 14 and 18 and their parents who make a living by helping expunge demons from haunted individuals. Hmm. Well, never mind the plot – it actually works quite well.
When I was about halfway through I happened to notice the name of the author. Isn’t that awful? I didn’t even pay attention to the author’s name until then. Shame. Anyway, the author’s name is John Searles. A male . . . writing in the point of view of two young females. The characters were so well-formed and realistic I was surprised to learn they were created by a man.
I began to wonder how many other books I’ve read had characters developed by an opposite sex author. One that came to mind immediately was “Memoirs of a Geisha.” In this book, the author, Arthur Golden, does an excellent job of portraying the opposite sex main character. (Not to mention all the cultural differences that required a great deal of research.)
The other book I recalled was “She’s Come Undone,” by Wally Lamb. Also an excellent portrayal of a female character by a male author. Here the protagonist deals with rape, the death of her mother and suicide. How much tragedy and trauma can one woman deal with and how can the male author empathize so poignantly?
In “Help for the Haunted,” clearly I assumed the author was female. I applaud John Searles for getting into the heads of two young women so artfully. But how did he do it? Does he have daughters? Does he teach high school girls? Does he vet his characters through other young women to see if they are, indeed, realistic?
In my novel, “The Triangle Murders,” I attempted the same thing. The main character is a male homicide cop. But in this case, Frank Mead had been developed in other books with the help of a female character. In this book I simply let him fly on his own. The point is that Frank “grew” around my female protagonist in other books and I felt I knew him well enough to give him the lead. But how well did I know him compared to my female lead? As a woman, how well can I know any man?
Is it enough to be married, teach, have brothers, sons, uncles and cousins of the opposite sex, to claim to know what goes on in their heads? Is writing about characters from an opposite gender point of view different from writing about characters in a different time zone or location?
I think it is.
What do you think?
Hi Lynne – Slightly off-topic, gender differences are always an important issue in writing to ensure the characters are realistic, in thoughts, behavior and speech. I write from the viewpoint of the character that is central in the scene – or at least I try to. It’s the only way, imho, to come to distinctive characters that jump off the paper.
I have many resources collected over the years that discuss gender differences. In case some of your readers are interestedthey can drop me an e-mail at pisano [dot].leonardo57 [AT] gmail [dot] com.
As always, thanks, Leonardo!
Good points Lynne. When I wrote from a man’s pov, I did read books written by the type of men I wanted to portray – a tracker/survivalist and a navy SEAL. It was helpful to study the language they used and how these men communicated with others. It helped me give their dialogue credibility. My biggest compliment was when an editor at a publishing house referred to me as Mr. Quillen to my agent. He thought a man had written the book. Made me smile!
Mr. Quillen! That is a compliment. What does Q think? Thanks, Indy.
I wrote my adventure novel Penny for Them in the first person from the point of view of a twenty year old woman. i stretched my imagination to the limit, and judging from the reviews, I hit on a realistic story with a lively character in the leading role.
Penny, the leading character never resorts to vulgarity, but describes in a humorous way, the problems she encounters with the natural functions of the human female as she is stranded in Argentina during the 1982 Falklands Conflict.
As I am an ageing grey haired and moustached former policeman, I called on a bit of invention and quite a lot of imagination!
Imagination, indeed. You’re a brave soul. Thanks, Philip.
I’m not sure why – but I find it far easy to write men than women. What does that say about me, I wonder? I seem to have an equal number of male and female readers, so I assume it’s working….
If it’s working, Debbie, keep doing it! Thanks.
I have no trouble writing in either POV.
Oh and my name really is Lindsay Downs and I’m a guy
My name, Lynne – but without the e, is sometimes a guy as well. Thanks for reading.
Excellent article!!! I switch between my male and female main character’s POVs. I constantly go back to look at the male POV to make sure it’s male.
I’ve run into something in crit groups. Females have hard and fast ideas as to what male behavior is. Some think men don’t cry. Many think it’s not manly for a male character to notice the physical attributes of another man. When I’ve asked men, they state they do cry or know men who cry. They do notice the bodies of other men in an offhand manner (they have eyes and notice what’s before them), or in a competitive manner.
Good points, Nike. Breaking out of stereotypes is tough. Hmm- another blog topic?
I feel that as long as you have invested in the opposite gender character enough to give them a unique voice, they have a good chance of flying on their own. Unfortunately, sometimes I run into stories where the characters all tend to sound alike. That was why I was pleased when my novel was reviewed by an Amazon Vine reviewer who mentioned that, although my main character (a man) was an author in the story, his journal entries were not as eloquent as the female character’s narrative parts. I was glad that he could see a distinct difference in their speaking styles throughout the novel, as I was striving to make sure they both came across as unique individuals.
As long as you do enough ‘people watching’ and real world research, you can pick up enough about a male character to be a female writer and give the readers a strong character. Great blog!
I think one of the hardest job we have as writers is to endow your characters with unique voices. Your points are well taken. Thanks, Carrie.
One of my favorite authors is Martha Grimes.The main character in her books are a male, Scotland Yard detective and I routinely have to remind myself that it is written by a woman. I haven’t tried to write from the head of the opposite sex yet but I’m glad for the tips for when I venture into that task. It will undoubtedly be a challenge. After 37 years of marriage, I still have trouble knowing what is going on in my husbands head. But then, maybe that’s a good thing.
Martha Grimes is one of my favorites. She does a great job getting in Jury’s head. Thanks, Judy.
My wife and I first met on a writer’s website: for weeks, she thought I was a woman. 🙂
I’ve published two romantic comedies, and a YA novel with a fifteen year old girl’s point of view. My most popular character (who was in all three books, the first two in a supporting role) is the fifteen year old, who tends to take over every scene she’s in. I think it helps that I have three sisters, and raised two daughters.
It does help to know the opposite sex when writing from that POV. Thanks, Mark.