Male VS Female main character? (1 Viewer)

[fatassmcfat]

What gender do you use and what gender are you yourself? is it better to stick to your own gender because you 'understand' them more (thats what my teacher says). Im female but I always write male perspective, mostly cause when I read a book about a female character I tend to judge them more harshly and dislike them compared to if they were the same but male (I DUNNO WHY but I read about it on the internet and a lot of girls have that too? and of males also prefer male characters. I guess cause males can usually get away with being angry or frustrated without looking whingy or whatever?). Is it obvious to a reader that they portrayed the mind of the opposite gender wrong or something?

ALSO IS IT JUST ME OR ALL THE 'GOOD' stories are so boring to read. Are creatives meant to be like an essay where you follow a specific structure and are then guaranteed marks e.g. extended metaphor, homonyms repetition etc. 99% of the good books in real life dont even use that stuff, then again I guess 99% essays in real life dont use thesis structure etc.....

 

[rumbleroar]

Uh generally I write creatives from my own experiences and being female they can come with female perspectives? but there really is 0 rigid structure as to what gender perspective you can write a creative from, as long as it is a good creative. like JK Rowling wrote HP and Harry is a boy and she is not, and it was a brilliant narrative

TBH I don't see why gender or sex is a big issue when it comes to writing a creative...as long as it is believable and well written. it will emerge organically what gender your protagonist is anyway.

and no creatives are called "creative" for a reason, its a place to experiment with style and words and does not require a very rigid structure or techniques. but generally, you need a complication (i.e. plot) to make your story engaging and gripping.

 

[Queenroot]

Challenge yourself

 

[iStudent]

I agree.. a lot of the best creatives are quite boring. But you can't really expect anything entertaining out of a thousand words anyways.
Also I guess your teacher tells you to stick to your own gender because you might start stereotyping if you didn't. I remember all I had for my female side character was crying and being overly emotional - got criticised for having 2D characters.

 

[buriza]

I usually write in male perspective although I can write in female perspective too. It depends on what the story requires because a male or female perspective can provide different dynamics. I have heard that it is better to write about what you are familiar with or understand since this will be reflected in the confidence of your writing style.

As for all the good stories being boring to read, this is probably a generalisation on your behalf. You would not have read all the stories that have been categorised as "good," but then again, even such a definition is subjective. For markers, rewarding a story with high marks does not only concern how enjoyable it may be, rather the practicalities of it all. In other words, exciting plots need to be supported with a linear structure and a variety of techniques, just to name a few.

 

[studybuddy101]

whenever i did creatives for english it would always be either an inanimate object or an animal. Avoids the gender issue altogether and lets you focus on creating a truly interesting character that isn't just another person we've already seen in a movie/book or some other form. With so few words you really want it to be something people aren't too familiar with

 

[norwegianwood]

this is funny to me because my character was transgender

 

[almondeye]

It's innate sexism - most everyone judges female characters more harshly than male, simply because we place higher standards on women than men. I wouldn't worry too much; write whatever you feel comfortable writing.

 

[strawberrye]

I prefer writing from a female perspective, but I guess it doesn't matter as long as you are comfortable with the 'voice' you are taking and you get good marks