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@freedomwriter76 @mineralizedwritings
https://www.jeuneauthors.com/post/how-to-write-a-male-character
Jayna Baas
Christian Author/Editor
www.booksbyjayna.com@freedomwriter76 @mineralizedwritings
https://www.writersdigest.com/publishing-insights/writing-the-male-point-of-view
Jayna Baas
Christian Author/Editor
www.booksbyjayna.com@freedomwriter76 @mineralizedwritings
https://www.writersdigest.com/writing-better-fiction/writing-gender-specific-dialogue
Jayna Baas
Christian Author/Editor
www.booksbyjayna.comI agree that guys and girls are different, and that should show in our writing. 🙂 I think my writing will change the more people I meet, and I believe that God will put those people in my life when he wants me to meet them. I’d say that on average my girl characters do express emotion more than the guys in my story.
Also, the term ‘cinnamon roll’ means something different for every author. When I say it, I generally mean a character that is outwardly cute, and I can sympathize with their struggles/emotions.
"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."
@freedomwriter76 @mineralizedwritings
I agree with both of y’all!!
First off, I want to say that just like how us girls and women aren’t all the same, not all men are the same either. Some men are more apt to show their emotions and have a softer/sweeter demeanor than others. Not all guys are these big, tough guys who won’t show any emotions, and not all guys are super sweet and gentle. Some of them, as most of my characters are, are a mixture of both. (Of course, this is only my personal opinion, but God does make us all different, so…y’know)
Also, I more often than not base my guy characters off of the men (which isn’t too many, mind you!!!) I know in my life, most of whom, from what I have seen, aren’t afraid to show emotions, and most of whom I know to be men with very soft and gentle hearts that they’re not afraid to show.
Yeah, me too.
And like @mineralizedwriting, it probably is a way of writing the kind of men I’d like to know more of one day, and the types of men I would love to have in my life more.
I do that too. We create what we’re looking for in a good husband I guess 🤷🏻♀️😅😅
And also, it hasn’t been too difficult….because I myself relate to the whole “hide your emotions because tears are a sign of weakness” that many of my guy characters deal with, and I relate to the struggle to be strong by bottling your emotions and I relate to the thing of keeping your pain to yourself so you can be strong for everyone else.
I understand that. My character, Dylan is a lot like me in that way too.
In fact…writing girls is hard for me. Completely hard for me. I can write my male characters with ease, but when I try to write my (VERY FEW!!!) girl MC’s…I just can’t do it very well. They always feel like a cliche or otherwise unrealistic, and I just can’t stick with them very well. I don’t relate to them as much, even though I’m a girl…which confuses me still.
Lol!! Yeah, I get that! I like writing my guy characters much better than my girls 😂😅. No idea why 🤷🏻♀️
(also, I’ve had my Dad read many of my writings, and he’s never said anything about what a man would or wouldn’t say…I’ve never had anyone correct me about how my guys react…tbh…but maybe I just haven’t asked??? 🤷🏻♀️)
Yeah, he probably would’ve said something. That reminds me, I need to ask my Dad about that too…😂😅
IDK…maybe none of that made any sense. 😅😅😅
No, It made perfect sense!! 🙂 😅
Writing sweet guys gives me hope there’s some out there. It looks different in my different characters, for instance my oc Layson if pretty typical not cinnamon roll, but he has a daughter and is super loving towards her. The whole cinnamon roll thing is also just how I perceive my charries… I just luv them XD.
Yes! That is so true. So true!! Haha, yeah, I have several cinnamon rolls too (MATTHEW!! <3<3) XD. We just love our charries.
But yeah. I agree with both of y’all! Y’all always say the most relatable things <3<3. 🙂
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@booksbyjayna. Yes, I do agree that men and women are different in many ways, and I do understand what you mean. Thank you for clarifying exactly what you meant. 🙂 And I agree that it’s good to celebrate the differences between men and women, and how important it is to show how God created us differently. 😀
It’s more that for most men, emotions and relationships do not occupy the place of prominence that they do for most women.
I see…I understand what you mean! And none of my guy characters, that I can think of, at least, will ever talk about their emotions for no reason, they normally have to be led to talk about them. 🙂
Oddly, it’s always been easier for me to create stories about male characters as well.
It’s very odd that it’s easier for us to write guys… 😅😂
For me, personally, I don’t tend to focus on my emotions many times, being a girl who chooses to ignore them and almost REFUSES to talk about them (not a good thing, I know…), I think it’s another reason why I relate to my guy characters more.
But I totally understand what you mean, and thank you for clarifying what you were saying! 😊
Hey Jayna! Welcome to KP! Sorry it’s taken me so long to say hi.
Anyway, I’m Theloonyone. Like most here, I am a Christian writer, but I also enjoy music, art, and reading. I play the piano (and the clarinet a little) and have been slowly growing my drawing skills over the past couple of years. Right now, I’m working on a couple of different short stories that I started years ago and never finished, and am editing my sci-fi/romance WIP.
I might ask you those indie publishing questions someday- if I ever feel satisfied enough with my writing to actually publish it. That’s really cool that you’ve published a novel! It definitely takes a lot of work.
Anyway, some newbie questions!
1. Stranded on an island. If you like music, what are five songs or five albums that you would want to have if you were stranded on an island? Basically top five, whether through quality or sentiment.
2. Stranded on an island but five books.
3. If you could make any activity an Olympic sport, what would you have a good chance of winning a medal for?
Welcome to Kingdom Pen, again! I hope to see you around!
Are my optical apertures beguiling our gray matter or is there a newby to nettle? Hail @booksbyjayna! I’m sure it’s a pleasure to acquire our acquaintance! We beg your pardon for not getting off our high horse for this historic and momentous moment, but that would make us oh so too lowly. (We can’t have that happening now can we?) Perhaps, to make up for our breach of conduct, I ought to introduce myself, yes? . . .
No.
We shall force you to delve deep into KP’s muck and mire to enquire at my moniker. Tehehohohaha!!!
You will love what you spend time with.
I agree that guys and girls are different, and that should show in our writing. 🙂 I think my writing will change the more people I meet[…]
That’s a great way to look at it, @mineralizedwritings. God does have a way of giving us what we need when we need it.
Ha, apparently “cinnamon roll” is not part of my author vocabulary. I do think I have some characters that my readers would define that way, but I’m trying to think what my equivalent term would be, and I’m drawing a blank. Hopefully that doesn’t say anything about the state of my character development skills!
Jayna Baas
Christian Author/Editor
www.booksbyjayna.comYes, I do agree that men and women are different in many ways, and I do understand what you mean. Thank you for clarifying exactly what you meant.[…]
You’re welcome, @freedomwriter76. I need to learn to clarify what I mean before I post it and start a discussion on it!
You said your male characters have to be led to talk about their emotions. I love what one of the articles I linked said: You have to make it worse or more painful for your guy to not talk about how he feels than for him to talk about it. I’ve been reading Louis L’Amour’s The Warrior’s Path (Sackett series #3) with our discussion in mind, since it’s a male author writing a first-person male POV, and it was really eye-opening for me to notice how small a part emotion played in the story at all. It was definitely there, but almost never spelled out.
Jayna Baas
Christian Author/Editor
www.booksbyjayna.comHey Jayna! Welcome to KP! Sorry it’s taken me so long to say hi.[…]
Hello, @theloonyone! Thank you for the warm welcome. I’m always happy to answer questions, but I know firsthand how important it is to not rush into publishing. I’m forever grateful that no one gave me an Amazon upload button at the age of ten. Who knows what I might have inflicted on the world? I think that’s why Thomas Umstattd Jr.’s ninth commandment in his Ten Commandments of Novel Marketing is “Thou shalt not publish thy first book first.”
1. Stranded on an island. If you like music, what are five songs or five albums that you would want to have if you were stranded on an island?
I do like music, but this question is beastly hard. I have a tendency to listen to a song over and over for a few weeks and then forget about it. But let’s see. Michael Booth’s Dear Yesterday (album). “O My Soul Will Rest on Jesus” by the Lefevres (song). London (album) by Legacy Five. One of Phil Coulter’s Celtic albums, probably Winter’s Crossing, or at least the title track from that album. And a Booth Brothers gospel album, but your guess is as good as mine when it comes to which one I’d choose.
2. Stranded on an island but five books.
Also a beastly question. I’m going to pretend the Bible is already on the island with me. Something by Amanda Dykes. Something by Davis Bunn (probably Lion of Babylon). Tracy Groot’s Sentinels of Andersonville. Watchman Nee’s The Normal Christian Life. Maybe The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown?
3. If you could make any activity an Olympic sport, what would you have a good chance of winning a medal for?
Procrastinating. Just kidding. Kind of. Maybe I’ll come back and answer this question later…
Now you have to answer at least one of the questions you asked me.
Jayna Baas
Christian Author/Editor
www.booksbyjayna.comAre my optical apertures beguiling our gray matter or is there a newby to nettle?[…]
@power, I haven’t the foggiest idea what your optical apertures may be conveying to your cerebral cortex, but you might at least spell newbie correctly.Jayna Baas
Christian Author/Editor
www.booksbyjayna.comHa, apparently “cinnamon roll” is not part of my author vocabulary. I do think I have some characters that my readers would define that way, but I’m trying to think what my equivalent term would be, and I’m drawing a blank. Hopefully that doesn’t say anything about the state of my character development skills!
Lol don’t worry about it! I had to look up what ‘wip’ meant at some point XD
Idk if there is a equivalent term XD
Oh and to add to the complication of that definition, almost all have curly/fluffy hair 😂
"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."
I agree with both of y’all!! Yeah, me too. I do that too. We create what we’re looking for in a good husband I guess 🤷🏻♀️😅😅[…]
@lightoverdarkness6, the trouble begins when real men don’t measure up to our fictional imaginings! I do think we’re drawn to creating heroes, though. Probably another thing that’s hardwired in us… It’s a great idea for you and @freedomwriter76 to run your stories past your dad. I should do that more often. Guys don’t necessarily bring those kinds of things up if they’re not asked.Well, @mineralizedwritings, you learn something new every day. All those writing craft books I’ve read, and not a one ever gave me a definition of cinnamon roll. 😀
Jayna Baas
Christian Author/Editor
www.booksbyjayna.com@booksbyjayna That’s all right. I’ve never had a true cinnamon roll charrie either–my guy characters would probably kill me if I called them that…..
"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers
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