Writing Craft Wednesday:Writing in the Male POV – Part 3
I am a woman. I think like a woman. I write like a woman. But what if I want to write like a man? If men are so straightforward and simple, shouldn’t it be easy to write in their point of view? Apparently not.
After my first failed attempt, I dove into researching how to write in the male POV. For the last couple weeks, I have shared what I learned about how men talk and how men think. Today we are wrapping up our study of writing in the male POV with a look at male behavior.
Without further ado…
Male Behavior
- Use strong verbs to describe their movement. Guys generally don’t wander and linger. They know where they’re going and they don’t mess around when they get there.
- When guys hang out together, there is usually an activity involved, whereas women can just get together and chat for the sake of chatting.
- The male ego can drive a guy to do things that are slightly crazy or a lot crazy.
“Almost all guys are defensive all the time. Lots of crossed arms, lots of small head-nods in agreement. Friendly guys will go for the back-slap or hair-ruffle (though ruffling is a bit demeaning, it’s the older-brother-little-brother gesture). With girls, it’s far more awkward. Maybe some casual, testing-the-water touches. Otherwise, guys are typically quite self-conscious around girls.”
– InkandQuills.com
Men…
- Are action-oriented. They do instead of think about it.
- Are rarely prepared to wait for any great length of time.
- Like being in charge (or at least like thinking they’re in charge!)
- Have better detection of light and have better depth perception.
- Are really great at faking being strong and tough. They present a confident front.
- Listen and give advice on how to solve a problem.
- Rarely admit being wrong.
- Rarely respond to direct commands unless it’s issued by a boss or other ranking figure.
- Rarely cry.
- Rarely have intimate friends. They tend to have a larger circle of ‘casual mates’
- Look for a physical way to end conflict–the quickest, most direct method you can imagine. Imagine physical contact or using anything blunt, heavy, or sharp
If the murderer were right there, then the Manly Guy will not stop to feel sad, he’ll go into Revenge Mode immediately, and nothing will stop him. But if the murderer is far away (the normal case) then the Manly Guy will go through the normal feelings of loss. Then he will map out a plan of action that will take him to the murderer and he will execute vengeance in a Manly Guy way, which will probably involve high explosives or machine guns or hot pokers placed in inconvenient places.
– AdvancedFictionWriting.com
Girl/Guy Interaction – According to a Man
Guys always notice girls. In the same way that guysalways notice every threatening-looking guy in a room, or the same way they notice if there’s a television.
The second look–the double-take–that’s the big one. The first look doesn’t count, that’s instinctual. The second look means we’re interested, or at least, willing to double-check.
As a guy, the general rule of thumb is, “Unless you knowotherwise, she’s taken.” To that extent, guys can look at girls, imagine what it might be like with her in a relationship, but then tell themselves a dozen reasons that wouldn’t work.
– InkandQuills.com
What do you think? Are there things that need to be removed? Need to be added? Comment below and let me know.
Previous posts about Male POV:
Writing Craft Wednesday: Writing in the Male POV – Part 1
Writing Craft Wednesday:Writing in the Male POV – Part 2
Interested in learning more? Check out my favorite articles from my time of research below.
Advanced Fiction Writing – Wrapping Up Those Manly Guy Characters
Advanced Fiction Writing – On Writing Convincing Male Characters
Ink and Quills – How to Write from a Guys POV
Hopefully with the tools in hand that I have discovered, you will be reading about my believable swoon-worthy hero soon.