Inside the head of a boy…(How to write from a guy’s POV)
Writing from a guy’s POV is something I find kind of hard. It’s interesting but it also requires some different things than writing from a girl’s POV. Since I am a girl, girly things come easier to be than boy things. Heck I’m mostly clueless what my heroes do when they aren’t saving the world with my heroine. Okay – they play x-box and guitar hero because that’s what my guy friends do. Ohh and they build stuff and drink beer. Some like bowling too!
So to make things easier for all the gals trying to write like a guy – I put together a list of things I found helpful to think about when writing a male character. This is from reading male authors, talking to some guy friends and reading about writing guys as a girl. There are apparently a few things guys do differently than women – these are not fact or anything just some things that seem to be true.
What Do Yous Think About?
1) Sex: It’s not a myth there all lots of studies that proves boys think about sex between two and three times more often than girls. This dose not mean all guys go around just thinking about boobs and other girl parts all the time. Just that sex is slightly more in the front part of their brain than for us ladies. Guys are a lot about things they can see rather than things they can feel. They’ll probably be all “wow she’s totally hot and I love it when she reaches for things so I can see some of her belly – and she’s kind of cool to talk to too! What a catch.”
2) Gossip is stupid. This might be hard to comprehend but most of the time men (apparently) think it’s completely waste of time to talk about whether Lisa and Lucas hocked up at Mark’s party. Sure John might find it interesting but that’s only because he has a crush on Lisa or something. Otherwise they don’t really care.
3) Like to think about one thing at a time: their not all out there. When it’s time to do write they write. They don’t check their email and chat while writing about how Chuck is about to kill the gigantic squid. The stick to talking about how great the football game was until they talked it through a hundred times. When they’re playing x-box they’re playing x-box and can’t be expected to talk about how unfair the world is at the same time.
What Do Guys Do?
1) They do things: Unlike females who like to talk about what we’re going to do guys actually do things not just sit around thinking or talking about it. It’s do or die for them – something some ladies could learn a thing or two by copying. (me included – gotta get back to writing when I’m done here!)
2) Don’t talk around things – most of the time guys are blunt. If they don’t want to do something they just say “That sounds boring. I don’t want to do it.” most women go “yeah sure that’s a pretty nice idea but maybe we could do this other thing instead.” Your male character might be shy or timid and not want to offend the character he’s talking to but if that’s the case he’ll probably just shut up and go along with it. No matter how boring he thinks it sounds.
3) Care about their hair and clothes. Even if you are a guy (or writing from the POV of one) you’re not going to be like “I picked up whatever was on the floor and didn’t brush my hair or teeth before leaving the house” unless your character is a complete slob. Your guy character might not pick up a pair of jeans and go “wow my butt would look so great in these” but they probably have favorite clothes they think make them look more muscular, thinner or taller too. Don’t go overboard but remember it’s not just girls that want to look hot!
Now this is very general. All guys aren’t this way – because we are all people before we’re men/women. I think what’s really most important to remember when writing male (or female character for men). All your characters are human (well unless they’re werewolves or wizard but you get my point). I really like what G.G.R. Martin said about writing women “You know, I’ve always considered women to be people.” I think that’s one of the key aspects of writing a character, be it a he or a she, is that s/he is an individual with dreams, desires and demons. So when you’re having trouble with writing a male character just remember, we’re more similar than we’re different; so focus on the character as an individual and you’ll do just fine!
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Random funniness bonus: Why men are never depressed!
