The other week my son got his learners. He can now drive, which is scary. In fact, me and my husband rock, paper, scissored, to see who had to take him out first.Anyway, back to my point. We were updating his information for the license (height, eye color, etc) and he noticed that his weight was wrong. "I'm ten pounds heavier," he says.
I had to laugh, because a girl would never in a million years say, actually I'm heavier now.
Right now I'm editing a book where the POV are from two different males. I need to make sure I stay true to how boys act. I had a scene where one boy cried and a beta reader pointed out that most boys don't cry. Little things like that I need to consider.
Do you write in a girl's POV or a boy's? And if it's a boy, what do you do to make sure you stay true the male species?
18 comments:
It's so true. Boys are different. My husband is always trying to gain weight. Grrrr. :)
I mostly write girl POV, but I've had boy POVs in a couple books. For me, personally, I think more about who's reading it. I mean, sure, I want it to be genuine, but I also know that if my audience is girls, most of them don't want to know what a boy is REALLY thinking. They want to read about the romantic exception. :)
Good luck on having a driver. eeek.
My last book was written in a boy's pov and I tried my best to stay in a male's pov. I did the best I could! I think to really know the character is the key.
As you say no girl would mention their weight. That said our nephew gets so annoyed when people have him noted as being shorter than he is - he may not be concerned with weight but height certainly matters.
I write in a female point of view, because I'm afraid I'd make my boy sound too girly. =)
My MCs are normally female, but I do have male POVs too. I have a difficult time writing male POVs but that's what my crit group is for--the men in the group are quick to catch when the guy isn't acting right. I like to think I've gotten better over the years but I've still got a lot of learning to do!
My MCs are all female. I'm not sure I could be true to the male POV, unless I was writing an MG. Maybe when my boy (who is 9) turns 16, I can do a YA male MC better!
I've got a book from a male perspective, and staying true to it has been hard at times. My MC is a bit of a sissy, but he's still male. I've know a lot of males over the years, and I pick my husband's brain to help me with that.
Good luck with yours!
There really is a difference -- in speech, action, and how we look at every situation.
I stick to female pov for a good reason. ;)
There was an article May/June issue of Writer's Digest on this topic.
I write romance, so I have to get inside both my lady's head and the man's head. My hubby reads my work, so if ever there's something that doesn't sound realistic, he's my spotter. :)
I have a male MC so I have other dudes check it out to make sure I'm keeping him where he ought to be. Hopefully, he isn't coming across as girly. =P
I have written boy POV and I find I have to ask my husband some things- like would a boy say this. How about this?
I also read somewhere that boys talk in shorter more concise sentences, where some girls like to er...ramble a little more. Found that helpful and interesting. And much less introspective.
Also I had to use some words I wouldn't normally use. :)
My book is girl. In fact, I have no books-to-be-written I'd write from male POV. Maybe I need to wait until my son grows up a little before I have some insight into how boys think.
Girl POV. I'm considering a male POV, but I'm thinking it may not be the way to go.
Ha ha!! That is SO funny!! I would never have thought about teen guys being so opposite of girls about their weight! Having both in the house must help with the writing!
I always write in close girl perspective, at least so far. Next book is going to have two male narrators. That should be interesting. I've loved writing my male characters best, though, so I'm looking forward to it. And I'll have to make sure I have a guy read it for accuracy!
I admire authors that write in the opposite POV of their own gender. Wally Lamb did an excellent job with She's Come Undone and Hinton with all her books. I've written a short romance from a males POV but not sure if it's any good or not!
I admire authors that write in the opposite POV of their own gender. Wally Lamb did an excellent job with She's Come Undone and Hinton with all her books. I've written a short romance from a males POV but not sure if it's any good or not!
That's so funny about the weight for the driver's license. Once I lost a few pounds & realized that I should have it corrected on my license!
Writing from a boy's/man's POV requires really paying attention to the details. Observing how men talk & how they gesture is important.
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