: Re: Methods for writing from an alternate gender/age/cultural viewpoint? While many aspects of a culture, etc, can be researched - there are intrinsic difficulties to writing from the PoV of a woman

@Annie587

Vote Up Vote Down

My first thought is, Don't be afraid to use stereotypes, but don't overdo them. Most stereotypes came to be widely circulated because they have at least an element of truth. Like years ago I read somewhere, Nobody tells jokes whose punch line is that Jews drink too much, or that Irish people secretly rule the world.

So for example, it's a classic stereotype that women want a husband who is rich, while men want a wife who is beautiful. And I just saw a survey recently that found -- shock of all shocks -- that women are indeed far more likely to consider how much money a man makes before getting married than men care about a woman's income, indeed the men often said they would be cautious about marrying a woman who made more than he did. Likewise men cared more about looks.

The trick is to employ a stereotype without being simplistic or carrying it to an extreme.

If you have a character who only appears briefly in a story, of course we don't expect an in-depth, complex character study. If a character only says two sentences and then disappears, he can be a simplistic stereotype. But if the main character in your story has only one apparent motivation that explains everything he does, the story will be shallow and probably boring. Have you seen Star Wars Episode I? I recall when watching that thinking to myself, Every character in this movie can be completely described in one sentence or less. There's the wise old man, the brave but reckless youth, the good queen who is just trying to do what's best for her people, the villain who will torture and kill to stay in power, etc etc.

You also want to be careful not to make all the characters who are members of the "group" interchangeable. If you have, say, a female character whose overriding concern is to protect her children, sure, that's a stereotype, but it's a stereotype with truth to it and most readers would find such a character quite believable. (Assuming it was done well, of course.) But if the only apparent motivation of EVERY female character in the story is to protect her children, I'd take a step back and rethink the characters.

And just by the way, it's not only writing people of a different gender or age that can be difficult. Some of the lamest writing I've ever seen involved people trying to write a character of a different political persuasion or religion.

(0)

Login to post a comment!