Poll #5: Your Protagonist's Gender

[Andy]

Poll idea by Shadow :smile:

For discussion: Why?

[Nyx]

Do you mean why is it the gender we choose? I often choose a female because I feel like I can understand my character more and it helps me right better. When my main character is a boy, I feel like I have to streach out of my element to understand my character.

[Rafael Domination]

Yeah...since I'm still an amateur writer, I write about what I can understand the most, and since I'm a boy, most of my main characters are guys as well...

I'm still getting to J.K. Rowling's level, where she can understand a guy's mind well...

[Nyx]

I'm still getting to J.K. Rowling's level, where she can understand a guy's mind well...

Wierd, I was thinking of Rowling as well. One of the reasosn I admire J.K.Rowling's work is how she can understand a guy so well...

[Andy]

The poll's up now. Yeah, for some reason I can't add the poll until the first post has been posted. Don't ask why. Ask the makers of vbulletin. :D

[Andy]

My protagonists are usually guys, but if I do more books later on, I'm going to have some female ones. I'd like to do both about equally, although I'm going to have to do some research first. :D:D

[Rafael Domination]

Actually, the protagonists in my novels are guys. The protagonists in my mangas are usually girls (they're just so much more fun to draw...)

[Nyx]

I'd like to try having my main character as a guy but I think I'm going to leave that for later on when I'm not as amatuer a writer as I am now.

[Rafael Domination]

Maybe we can have a hybrid?

[Andy]

I'd like to try having my main character as a guy but I think I'm going to leave that for later on when I'm not as amatuer a writer as I am now.
Ditto!

Good luck with that, Raphael. :rolleyes: You'll get heavy criticism if people think you don't know what you're talking about.

[Rafael Domination]

No! No! I mean, there have been several things in fiction that had that. There was that myth of this Greek guy that was cursed to be half-girl, and maybe someone could write a novel about him...just trying to hand out ideas...:D

[jordanisonfire]

I choose the same gender as me, because I'm more familiar. I might try the opposite when I'm no longer an amateur (if I get that far), but, for now, the female gender could be completely alien in what they'd do in situations to the make gender. So, best to play it safe, I say. :)

[Shaun]

I've written a lot of stories from the female perspective. I think it's gender confusion :P.
Nah, I dunno, I feel like I can convey emotion better through the female perspective, which may be a male-viewed stereotype of women. I am writing a story with a female character that is extremely masculine though...almost inhuman really.

[Carraka]

I've done both about equally, but I wouldn't say that I try to write each gender equally. I just don't think about it. I come up with a plot, and something tells me what gender the protagonist must be. I mean, I just know. I don't even think about it. o.O

On the other hand, I have no idea if my portrayal of "how boys think" is accurate. -thrusts stories at you- Hahahaa--tell me!

[Crocolyle]

Nearly all my protagonists are guys around my age, occasionally a couple years younger. Usually I have several important female character, usually my first like main secondary character is female, but I tend to tell the story mostly from the guy's perspective (If I tell it from more than one character's perspective). I guess because it's easier for me.

That being said, I never like base a character off of me, mainly because I don't want it to come across as obvious. Also, I tend to come up with ideas for characters before story lines (if it happens the other way around it normally sucks) and most of characters that I have ideas for are jerks. So I'd like to think (or rather hope) that I'm nothing like them.

[Imelda]

My protags can be whatever they like. The majority are blonde women, though. If nothing else comes if my writing, there will be a whole slew of books in which the blonde heroine is not a total loser. It's my crusade for this lifetime.

Writing males is so fun, though. It's total guesswork and I love it.

[Andy]

Writing males is so fun, though. It's total guesswork
That's a recipe for disaster. :P You should do research.

[Imelda]

Well it's not my fault I'm female ...

Congrats on Nano, btw. :D

[Andy]

Thanks!

I'm not going to do research on medieval lifestyles, either. It's not my fault I'm living in the 20th century. :D

My protagonists are almost always male, since I'm better able to understand them. I'd like to do some female ones, though, in the future.

[Imelda]

What am I supposed to do? Pin down every male I see and interrogate them about their mental processes? I think I'd rather stay ignorant. :p

[Andy]

Check out a book that discusses common differences between male and female thought patterns. :rolleyes:

[jordanisonfire]

I learnt a bit from The Old Kingdom about the female mind, but not enough. We should round them up in pens and put them through experimentation so male writers can write about them in their stories. :P

[Imelda]

The Old Kingdom is actually a really good representation. Nix is still the only male writer I can say has a decent grasp of writing emotional females (yeah, that still includes you Andrew :P).

Of course, you could read books by females authors. :rolleyes:

It's actually easier for you guys to get an idea of us, than the other way around. Books written by men, or about men, tend to be less emotional, so if you're a woman wanting to write a more in-depth guy, you're ... well in trouble. :p

[jordanisonfire]

Hey, we can be emotional, at times. Check out Martin, he's full of emotion. According to many, too much. :rolleyes: :D

[Imelda]

Martin? GRR Martin? I got two chapters into his first book and nearly died of boredom because it was so rigid. *Waits for Car to sneak up and shoot me*

[Andy]

The Old Kingdom is actually a really good representation. Nix is still the only male writer I can say has a decent grasp of writing emotional females (yeah, that still includes you Andrew :P).
Um, my book hasn't even needed emotional females yet. :P

Guess I'll go read Nix's work soon...

[jordanisonfire]

Martin? GRR Martin? I got two chapters into his first book and nearly died of boredom because it was so rigid. *Waits for Car to sneak up and shoot me*

No, Martin, my protagonist. :rolleyes:

[Steak-Ums]

Yeah...since I'm still an amateur writer, I write about what I can understand the most, and since I'm a boy, most of my main characters are guys as well...

I'm still getting to J.K. Rowling's level, where she can understand a guy's mind well...

I never not once thought that her writing was that great. A great plot yes, but did Harry emulate any kind of traits that a boy his age should? Not IMO. I would've gotten Cho Changs digits in a minute.

Well, not to be offensive, but I think he'd only relate to people from the burbs at most.

[Nyx]

I never not once thought that her writing was that great. A great plot yes, but did Harry emulate any kind of traits that a boy his age should? Not IMO. I would've gotten Cho Changs digits in a minute.

Well, not to be offensive, but I think he'd only relate to people from the burbs at most.

Really? I always thought her understanding of a male's mind was pretty good, but then again I am a girl so...But my friends (who are guys) think that Harry does seem quite realistic. It could've been their liking of the Harry Potter books speaking though;)

[Carraka]

-sneaks up and shoots Imelda-

I thought you were talking about Nyx, and then I realized you were talking about Garth Nix, and now I feel really odd.

-thinks-

Were the first two chapters rigid? Eh--I wouldn't say so, but I don't think I was hooked until Dany came and um, Viserys did stuff. This is very sad. Very sad.

-prods shoe-

Anyway, apparently GRRM writes women/girls well, but I don't know, really. I just love it. So maybe he does? -shrug- Probably. I mean, Cersei, Brienne, Arya, and Sansa--well, Arya and Sansa were a bit exaggerated early on, but they got loads better. And Dany. And then there's Dany. WHY ISN'T HE DONE??!!! AAAAAAH!!! -rages-

[Zaphkiel]

I'm a guy, and I understand how a guy thinks, so I would naturally write about a male, but I do plan to do a story with a female protaginist.

[Alex]

I was thinking about writing from the prespective of a female on my latest story, but I felt that if I really wanted to make something out of it I should base it off of a gender I understand more clearly, but I would also like to try using a female protagonist someday soon

[Shaun]

One thing that would help you write female characters is to read works written by women or to read works in which there are female main characters. Interacting with women helps too, but sometimes us writers don't get to do that :P. Reading is a writer's greatest tool!

[Alex]

I agree completley Shaun, but its hard to find ((if it even exists)) a teenage boy who understands the opposite sex more than his own.

I'm sure in time I'll be able to understand a little more the inner complexities of a female but as it stands right now comfort is key, especially for a hopefully budding writer like me.

[Shaun]

Well feel glad that you don't have to write about a female character that is going to go through 'that special time'...I just came to the realization that one of my main characters in my online novel is actually almost at the age for that...and I have no idea how to write it :P

[Alex]

hah, good luck with that. I hope you don't crash and burn miserably =]

[Shaun]

Yeah, I'll need it :S.

[jordanisonfire]

I've just realised something whilst reading the Harry Potter books: JK Rowling doesn't really portray Harry's actions to that which I would think would be an adolescent boy's actions when going through all the strange events he does. Anyone else notice this?

[Andy]

I've just realised something whilst reading the Harry Potter books: JK Rowling doesn't really portray Harry's actions to that which I would think would be an adolescent boy's actions when going through all the strange events he does. Anyone else notice this?
Well, I don't think Rowling developed his personality a lot, especially in terms of other characters. Can you give some examples?

[jordanisonfire]

No, the books full of these instances and I have forgotten where. Sorry.

[Andy]

No, the books full of these instances and I have forgotten where. Sorry.
So...you forgot most of the series? :P

[Imelda]

Well feel glad that you don't have to write about a female character that is going to go through 'that special time'...I just came to the realization that one of my main characters in my online novel is actually almost at the age for that...and I have no idea how to write it :P

Oh just miss it out. If there's one thing that annoys me, it's when writers have a mild obsession with that and feel the need to point it out. No one cares ...

[jordanisonfire]

So...you forgot most of the series? :P

No, I have been paying attention, I just forgot about these instances.

And Shaun, just give her mood swings and be done with it. I don't care. I don't even include that sort of stuff if I'm writing about a guy.

[Andy]

Oh just miss it out. If there's one thing that annoys me, it's when writers have a mild obsession with that and feel the need to point it out. No one cares ...
Allison Croggon? Yeah, it honestly didn't contribute anything to the story.

No, I have been paying attention, I just forgot about these instances.
Ah, gotcha.

[jordanisonfire]

Quiet, Andrew, or I'll set Rif-Raf on you.

[Imelda]

Allison Croggon? Yeah, it honestly didn't contribute anything to the story.


Yeah, Alison. Bugs me, because I love the story so much but I cringe every time it's mentioned, and I'm a woman and used to it. :p

And Shadow, you can't just give a woman mood swings, it's far more complicated than that. Unless you're writing trashy teen fiction for girls, there's absolutely no reason to include it in a story.

And another thing, Shauny Mc Shaun Shaun: I assume you're talking about Laura. She's what, 12? 13? That's a common age for girls to hit puberty (especially nowadays when kids are growing up faster) but there are a lot who hit it later, so it's perfectly reasonable to just miss it out entirely. Besides, if you get into that, you have to start counting monthly cycles and that could just get reaaaaaally annoying. :p

[jordanisonfire]

How are kids growing up faster?

[Imelda]

They're literally maturing faster. I don't know why. :p

My old primary school, for instance (my mum works there now, so I know what happens there): when I was there, only one girl hit puberty in Y6, and she was one of very few who did. There was no need for separate girls' toilets, no need to separate the class when changing for PE, and it wasn't because we didn't care. Physically, we were all still kids.

Now (10/11 years later) there are far more girls who reach puberty in Y6 (and occasionally earlier). There's a need for separated toilets now, with the facilities that women need in there. They have to separate the class while changing, because the girls are developing, and the boys are actually noticing at that age now. Society's been forcing kids to grow up faster for years now (magazines aimed at kids talking about make up and boys and sex, tv showing kids acting more grown up, responsibility in the form of exams at earlier ages, etc) and it looks like it's more than just the mental attitude that's shifting with it.

[jordanisonfire]

Weird. We don't have that. I don't really care about girls hitting puberty, because they only show off about it to the popular guys, who they practically have sex with at parties. So, me, being unpopular, isn't bothered at all.

[Imelda]

Yeah but you're 14, Shadow, not 10/11. :P I have no idea what goes on at comp level now, and by that age it's getting to be normal anyway. But the lower threshold is getting even lower now, which is kinda sad. Kids are growing up so fast. *Sniff*

[jordanisonfire]

Yes, but eleven-year-olds go to my secondary school. They're almost exactly like the people in my year.

[Imelda]

My point exactly. They're not supposed to be. The demarcation between child and teen has completely broken down.

[jordanisonfire]

Well, it's maybe because sex education has become more common and more popular. I mean, I didn't even know how babies were made until a sex education talk. So, in some ways, it's a bad thing as a result of a good thing. And plus, there's always hormones involved, and they can't be prevented, so, it's quite impossible to stop.

[Shaun]

Unfortunately I have to address the issue because the character isn't at home. If I were setting the story in our world and the character was at home and had parents and the like, I'd likely skip over it. But she's far away from home, in a world where the technology of today doesn't exist and where her parents can't help her...it's somewhat important to address.

[Alex]

about the entire kids growing older faster discussion I have to agree with Imelda on this one

kids are growing up faster, physically and mentally ((mentally in ALL the wrong ways but I'm not going to get into that.)) and its a pitty.

About the girls hitting puberty, well I just turned 15 on Christmas, but I'm already sophmore in high school so for me its had alot more of an impact. Unlike alot of 8th graders the sexuality isn't as pronounced as it is in a middle of the road in high school setting. I must admit I beleive there is alot more pressure put on us as high schoolers than the middle schoolers and as a gap in generations. I can't vouch for how it was years ago but I'd be willing to bet its alot different

[Shaun]

It was about the same when I was in high school so you should probably look a little farther back than a few years :P

[Imelda]

Shaun, you can leave it out! I'm begging you to! Unless you cover Laura's life from like ... age 12 to age 18, there's NO need to mention it. It's really, really annoying.

And if you know what women used as sanitary towels back in the day, please let me know, because I'm curious. :p

[Alex]

And Shaun, I'm begging you to!!!! Please! Please! Include pig intestine condoms like they used to have back in the day! I'm not sure of the literary merit, but it suuuure would be entertaining and if you need something to draw the reader in I think you got it =]

nah I'm just kidding. Personally I would include it just not to a major degree, but I would assume you have to mention it somewhere along the road. That being said I haven't read this so I wouldn't know. Just listen to Imelda so she doesn't beat you, thats the real smart thing to do =]]]!

[jordanisonfire]

I don't really think stuff like that is relevant. When I'm reading a book, I don't want to hear what's happening to the girl as she's going through puberty. It's not a nice thought.

[Shaun]

Well, as I told Imelda...it's important because the character gets pregnant later on :P

[Alex]

oh, well then you kinda have to put it in

and shadow, do books have to have only "nice" thoughts. Is the thought of a gas chamber a "nice" thought... I hope its not to you, yet its almost necessary in telling the full story of a holocaust survivor.

[Imelda]

He's just making it up. I can tell he only decided to make her pregnant as he was talking to me, just so he'd be right. :P

[Alex]

oh...

Well then Bravo Shaun, thinking on the spot, I like that

hahah

[jordanisonfire]

and shadow, do books have to have only "nice" thoughts. Is the thought of a gas chamber a "nice" thought... I hope its not to you, yet its almost necessary in telling the full story of a holocaust survivor.

Yes, it is a nice thought, actually.

[Alex]

I hope you weren't being serious because if you were thats a little.. well racist and nihilistic

[jordanisonfire]

Of course I wasn't being serious.

[Alex]

okokok I was just making sure

that would've been... awkward?? to say the least lol

how the hell am I supposed to tell apart sarcasm, its a damn computer screen lol

[jordanisonfire]

That's what smileys are for.

[Alex]

yet you didn't use one

;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)

See what I mean there?

[jordanisonfire]

I choose not to use smileys.

[Alex]

ahhhh wise choice

hiding your emotions from people who might want to backstab you good choice

[jordanisonfire]

No, I just don't use them for guesswork. If people are able to see the meaning of my words without smileys, then they are ultimately more perceptive.

[Alex]

thank you for that... that hurt, theres the suffering we talked about before ahhh!

I like to think I'm fairly perceptive but... meh.... w/e GUESS NOT jeez gawd uh gawd jeeezz!

[jordanisonfire]

If you read my post correctly, you'd realise you are wrong in saying that. I said more perceptive.

[Alex]

Am I not aloud to be wrong now? jk uhh god jeez uh god

just trying to be...more... bubbly??

that sounded wrong but w/e. So serious Shadow jeez

[jordanisonfire]

I was only correcting. Realise that I mean to say these things in a friendly way.

[Alex]

oh I know I just like pulling a guilt trip on you

sowwy =[[[[

my things are all playful to but maybe thats more obvious if I don't say it

Its ok we're cool, striaght up shadow =] ((for the record I don't know what "straight up" means))

[Zaphkiel]

CAn you two please stop this? We're talking about genders here, not perceptiveness.

[jordanisonfire]

Not to be hostile or anything, Zaph, but it looks like we're all done on the gender front. I think just about everyone on the site has voted. And a thread is obviously going to dwindle into spam eventually.

[Zaphkiel]

Oh, really? Well, the arguement wasn't going anywhere anyway, no offense.

[Lykaios]

My protagonists always seem to be boys. (I'm a girl) I write childrens adventure stories and I have always been a tomboy so maybe that's why. I do have female characters but the main character is very rarely female and generallt male.

[Phantom]

It generally depends for me... In the story "Why Me?" the girl is the protagonist...
As opposed to the one I need names for the POV switches from a man to a woman...I stole that idea sorta... It is interesting...

[kathydacat]

Most the characters that inspire me are guys, so naturally...

Mind you, my characters are totally different. Except most wear long coats...
DAMN YOU RTD!!

[random_writer]

Um, well, this was a difficult question. See, I have fidelity problems with my work. I'll be all focused and into one piece, then a random idea will pop in my head, and I'll HAVE to write it down... and currently, my interruption piece is going to switch between male and female... it will be a challenge, and I'll have to post it when I get some work done on the male POV... since I don't really know what it's like to be inside a guy's brain... and I suppose someone on this wonderful site can help me figure out how to write like I know what's going on...

[Simmi]

It really depends on the story for me, I like using male characters all the time and try to avoid it (my friend's think I'm weird enough already) So most stories I actually write/type switch POVs. At least so my friends don't call me weird I get it enough from my mom lol.

[electrilad]

I use A LOT of povs for my story; I love making complicated plots that intertwine a lot so people get it and are like "Hey! That guy that works there is that girl from that other chapter!" or something like that.

[Nyrihaz]

Well, I'm a girl but I mostly use boys, or not so girly girls. But lately I'm trying ot use both male and woman eaqualy.

[BittenxApple]

All of my protagonists are male, and I'm female.

[Liziy]

I usually do girls because when I write from a boy's perspective, they sound forced. Blah.

[Lionel]

My protagonists are almost always male, simply because I have a more realistic opinion of my own gender. With my female characters (of which there are many), I tend to downplay their flaws WAY too much. When writing male characters, I tend to be much more objective. Also, I usually imagine things from the perspective of an audience member, so I will tend to put the focus on someone who, were I watching/reading, I could relate to.
Now, some of my female characters are very important, but they are usually portrayed as being superior to the men--or, at least more decisive. Generally, my protagonist will learn something from the woman (or women) in his life, so having a female protagonist seems impractical at this point.
I do base stories around female characters, but the protagonist always seems to be a guy.

(Okay, that was way too long.)

[simplesimplicity]

It depends. I'm actually working on two stories right now, one has a girl protagonist and another has a guy. I find my girl protagonist extremely manly *cough* she just doesn't seem to have much feeling. I just think I'm not too good at writing about feelings unless it's the depths of despair. In that case, I like it.

But on the other hand, my male characters are sometimes a little too caring. Yeah, I know guys can be caring, but with mine it just gets a little girly. Hmm, I never realized that until now. Looks like I need work.

[Rose]

I usually draw more than write but when I want to write a story now I would probably write a story having the main characters a guy and a girl not just one gender(to be fair to both genders).I like the males to be usually the cool guys who are really smart but don't really show,instead they just sit there and everybody gathers around them,for they are funny and cool(I said it again).But they do really care about the girls they love when it matters and can sacrifice their lives to save them. Uh it's so romantic!All in all I really like the guys in general (awkward):blush:

[flaahgraman]

My main character's a guy, but at the moment he travelswith a bunchof mercenaries, three of whom are women. Girl characters are handy to have around, they can help to add depth to the guy's emotions. There is a quite a romantic edge to my writing, so it is kind of neccessary.

[Lilith]

I frequently find myself writing about the kind of people I'd like to be, which means the protagonist will be female - but I always back her up with plenty of interesting men. Stories with no gender balance can get a bit dull, unless they're trying to make a point that way.

[KyleN]

I like to have my protagonist as men becuase I know what they go through, and women well they confuse me. But I usually have an awesome female character(s).

[Clawfire]

I find I write more with a girl as a character but it's usually very unintentional that it's the same gender. i just have a girl usually because it's not like a girl to be the 'big' hero. It just adds to what I call the element of surprise… *mystery smile appears*

[ManyIdeas]

It all depends on the story for me. I mean, I've got a male protagonist and a female one in the same story line, because I couldn't make up my mind. With the Howell's Reign story, I chose male because it fitted the darker setting. I don't know, men just come across as much darker that women to me.

[dragonheart]

My first is a boy but I plan on doing the rest as girls 'cause I understand them better. Which reminds me it seems Rowling understands girls better than me which is weird because I'm a girl too and I don't understand Cho at all.

[FayGee]

I do use females more but it's unintentional.

[Kyaerin]

Poll idea by Shadow :smile:

For discussion: Why?

i choose female because i dont know how a guys mind works

[Syn]

For the time being, most my stories have male protagonists (although one is likely to have a female as well). It's just that I'm much more familiar with being a male, so I can get inside the character better. That is not to say that I don't like female characters; quite the contrary.
It's just that, until I get more experience in writing, I think I'll try to ease on the experimenting. And in the meantime, I can practice females on un-main female characters

[Rage]

Maybe. It's usually random.

I mean, depends what I'm writing. Sometimes I use females as protagonists in a warped one sided relationship manor. As if the main character is simply being bitter, and making the female worse then she really is. But that's just in the whiny emo scribblings. :sarcasm:

I do enjoy having male protagonists though, cuz being male myself I can get right into the character and imagine myself being in the story.

[bookworm]

I always wrote as a female because I found it easier to understand women, but I felt so ashamed of myself that now I usually do the opposite. I try to use both genders equally, but it doesn't always work.

[wutheringheights]

I make my protagonist whatever gender I dreamed them as. I have more guys than girls though.