Different Points of View

[ScottyMcGee]

I've reached a real tough spot.

Do you think it's possible for a male to write in first-person from a female's view?

It's been done, only in third-person. And I've done third-person female views before.

But in FIRST-PERSON?

I'm writing a story and in some parts it will REALLY benefit in first-person, but it has to be from a girl. Do you think it's possible I can accomplish it?

[Rafael Domination]

Oh yes, definitely. You just have to do some research on the female mind. Or, if you make it a really tomboy-ish female, it shouldn't be hard to accomplish. I've also read some first-person female perspectives, and honestly, I couldn't tell whether they were a guy or gal until another character said so. If you want, you could also make a really exaggerated/stereotypical female (at a few risks) with the usual obsession over shopping, clothes, nails, cheerleading, etc. Maybe you could try something not so drastic as that. Maybe you can just exaggerate or slightly emphasize one or more of their feminine qualities.



Yeah...something like that. :P

Hoped it helped a little...

[Dr_House_4ever]

Of course it can be done. One of my favorite novels is written by a male from a first-person female perspective (She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb). Like Raffy said, you just need to research the female mind. And I'm a female so if you have any specifics you'd like to quiz me about feel free to PM me.

[ScottyMcGee]

I just wanted to hear if there were any stories out there that have been written by a male in a first-person narrative from a girl's view. I've never heard of any. So I thought I was doing something seldom done or nearly impossible.

[Rafael Domination]

Ooh! wasn't it a guy that made Maximum Ride?

[Ichigo]

Of course it's possible. If your ever around TW look up the MOST POPULAR NOVEL(pretty much most popular anyways) on there. Dragonfire written by ADH093. He's a dude and he wrote it in 1st person for a girl. It's one of the best books I've read, published or not.
Really, I love it.
And I have complete faith in you to do it.

[Imelda]

Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen are all 3rd person, but they're pretty close to the girls' heads, so that might be of some use.

Be really, we're not that different, you know. :rolleyes:

[Alex]

Be really, we're not that different, you know. :rolleyes:

Uhm.... well lets agree to disagree.

I dunno what to tell you Scotty. I remember wishing you GL on AIM, and, not to dampen your spirits but I think you'll need it. I guess everything that needs to be said has been covered, but I would definatley look up some psychological texts on the differences of the male and female minds.

This is a little bit more unorthodox, but try looking up articles about this writen by children (by that I mean 12-17) and taking their perspectives (male or female) and trying to deduce something from there. Like I said before though, this is somewhere I probably will never try just because of all the complexities, but more power to you. =]]]

[Nyx]

It should be worth a try to write from 1st person for a girl. I don't think reading will get you as far as using friends though. By that I mean you should make sure your first attempts and read and crit.ed by females so they can tell you if its realistic or not. Also, don't be discouraged if your first attempt at it doesn't really work, I'm sure you can accomplish it after some practice.

[Shaun]

Actually, there really isn't that much different about men and women. There are tough women who have no emotion, just as there are tough men who have no emotion. There are emotional women, and emotional men. Etc etc. Really all the differences in our genders is physical, nothing more. Women are not smarter than men, men are not superior to women. We're equal except that men have a penis and women have a vagina. Men have one half of the reproduction equation and women have the other half and while we might argue that women bear the brunt of pregnancy just remember that you ladies go completely insane during it and drive men mad. We get our punishment for 9 months :P.

So of course you can write in first person in the mind of a woman. Just decide what sort of woman you want to write about and do it.

[Imelda]

I thought we went all cute and glowy for 6 months, and then started complaining?

PMS is your punishment. Three days every month. Yay! :D

[Rafael Domination]

Hey, it inflicts as much pain to you as it does to us :P

Anyhoo, yeah, I think Scotty got all the help he needed ^^

(Do we all get points now?)

[Ichigo]

Of course we get points.
^^
Or not.

[Shaun]

No, Imelda,
You barf, complain, gripe, groan, and eat weird arse stuff during the entire 9 months and it only gets worse and worse until the end, and then the poor man gets completely screwed for the next 30 years of his life...and by the time things right themselves it's too late and he's spent 30 years of his life praying that things would return to normal only to find out that physiologically it doesn't matter any more...

[Rafael Domination]

You gonna take that, Meldy? :D

Of course you will.

Mr. Shaun's your man!

[Imelda]

... :glare:

Of course I won't 'take' it. :glare:

Unfortunately he's right on the female front (though we're cute and glowy while we're throwing up, and sick isn't really that bad, and cravings can be cool. My mum craved fillet steak with me. :D).

On the male front he's the expert, and he hates children so I expected him to say something like that. :P

[Shaun]

We've already been through this though, Imelda...I told you then that if there's anyone I want to have kids with it's you, so yeah...I'm willing to sacrifice 30 years of my life suffering for your enjoyment :glare:

[Imelda]

Did you have to say that in public? They're all going to puke now ...

[Rafael Domination]

Somehow...I'm wishing that was the site's 20,000th post so people can remember it forever, and ever, and ever, and ever.....^^

[ScottyMcGee]

..........................................................




K....


I got my answer and I'm just gonna walk away now VERY slowly....

[Imelda]

Scotty's sig says it all, I think. :P

[Nyx]

I'm just gonna walk away now VERY slowly....


Copy that^^

[ScottyMcGee]

Scotty's sig says it all, I think. :P


:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

[Weirdside]

You can definitely write the opposite gender. That's like saying "I live in a first person world. Can I write third person?" It's all about perspective and being able to remove yourself from yourself. And practice. Lots of practive.