: Re: How do I create uniquely male characters? In How to write strong female characters, Standback says that the best way to write a strong female character is to make her uniquely female, the type

Wow, what a loaded question! I'll try to answer without stepping on any toes.

Getting at what makes a person "male" or makes a person "female" is something philosophers and psychologists have been debating since before Plato. While I think the postmodern gender studies definition is both flawed and unhelpful, I agree with the underlying rejection of traditional association of various traits with specific genders and generalizing that to individuals.

Qualities like bravery, assertiveness, and directness are not innately male, nor are empathy, sociability, and sensitivity exclusively female. Individuals of both sexes have different mixes of these qualities and their expression of them can change over time. Whether this means a person's gender changes, or if it's only the qualities, not the femaleness or maleness that shift, it's really irrelevant. You can't simply use such traits to depict an individual's gender.

As a writer, it's not necessary or even useful to impose such an interpretation on your reader. Instead, you need to describe the character's behavior and let the reader interpret that through their own philosophical framework.

Descriptions of body language, speech patterns, and even thoughts and intentions can give the reader all they need to visualize the sex or gender of your character.

If you want to make them uniquely male there are several sex-specific behaviors and characteristics you can note about the character: scratching in public, baritone voice, legs spread apart while sitting, physical dominance displays (rough-housing, handshake dominance, etc.) And then there are a number of social customs more typical of males--being loud, being chivalrous (or the opposite, engaging in harassment), etc.

Describe how the man acts and thinks. Let the reader decide what about that is male or manly.

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: You're overcomplicating the question. All you need to do is this: write the events of each section. Start each section off as being distinctly different places and your readers should be able

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: Is there a term for this? I'll explain my question by citing what was done on the TV show Dexter. Halfway through an episode (Season 4, episode 4, 'All in the Family') two established characters

: Re: How do I create uniquely male characters? In How to write strong female characters, Standback says that the best way to write a strong female character is to make her uniquely female, the type

More posts by @Moriarity138

: You're overcomplicating the question. All you need to do is this: write the events of each section. Start each section off as being distinctly different places and your readers should be able

: What challenges are there in writing a fantasy cookbook? I ask mostly out of curiosity. Obviously, a proper cookbook would involve real ingredients and not fantasy creatures. There's such a cookbook

: Is it ok if some of my city names are the same as the ones in other books/series/video games/ pieces of work? My book has a few place names that are also present in other pieces of media,

: Is there a term for this? I'll explain my question by citing what was done on the TV show Dexter. Halfway through an episode (Season 4, episode 4, 'All in the Family') two established characters

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