Yeah, people are people, and if you've interacted with both sexes and thought of them as simply people, then it shouldn't be that hard write either gender. Not all people think that way, for whatever reason. Plus gender is a complicated thing. I do think about it while writing, both in the world/culture I'm creating and in terms of the culture we live in.
For my novels (or novel idea) the gender of my characters so far have largely come with them. Races and ethnicity I've tweaked a little though. For my shorts, I often start with an idea not characters. So, a POV character may not come with a gender. In those cases I ask myself if the POV has to be male. If the answer is 'no,' I make the character female. I'd like to stack the deck a bit more with female characters in speculative fiction.
I'd guess it a little more likely for a female writer to write presentable male POV characters, if only because the world is largely full of a male viewpoint. But my take on the world may be influenced by the world of science, which is very based on male viewpoint and logic. And, in fan fiction I have read many a horribly written male character, a chick with a dick is just as off-putting as guys with tits.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2009-02-28 02:37 am (UTC)For my novels (or novel idea) the gender of my characters so far have largely come with them. Races and ethnicity I've tweaked a little though. For my shorts, I often start with an idea not characters. So, a POV character may not come with a gender. In those cases I ask myself if the POV has to be male. If the answer is 'no,' I make the character female. I'd like to stack the deck a bit more with female characters in speculative fiction.
I'd guess it a little more likely for a female writer to write presentable male POV characters, if only because the world is largely full of a male viewpoint. But my take on the world may be influenced by the world of science, which is very based on male viewpoint and logic. And, in fan fiction I have read many a horribly written male character, a chick with a dick is just as off-putting as guys with tits.