How to WRITE IN MALE POV

I always find this difficult. How the heck can a girl get into a guys mind and write as if she IS one?

I know even some guys have trouble writing in male point of view even though girls are so much easier to write. At least, in my opinion. Girls are silly and can fall in love easily. Girls get emotional very quickly. Girls are just...girls. Although some guys can't seem to get into a girls head as easily.

The most asked question is: how do you make realistic male characters? Making realistic male characters isn't something you can learn over night, but it is something you can really research online to help. Mostly, you need talent. Luckily you've been fortunate enough to run across my book and this specific chapter about how to write in a dudes POV. Let me tell you, I hate it when the guy in the story is so macho, and then when you get inside of his mind he's whiny, girlish, and bratty. I doubt that is what real men are like, and if they are, then I have their mind frame down to a tee. I mean I have a hard enough time trying to figure out what my brother thinks, so how can I write in male POV? WELL that is what this chapter is about.

What girls think:

When a guy says your hair looks nice, most women assume that there is some hidden meaning behind it that we somehow can't understand, such as:

♦ Your hair usually looks terrible. It’s about time you did something right with it.

♦ Your makeup is a mess, but at least your hair is OK.

♦ You’re fat. The hair compensates a little, but you’re still fat.

♦ Let’s hop in bed, you nymph, you.

First of all, what stupid freaking guy would call a woman fat and still live to see the sun?

What guys think:

The reality is that when a guy says, “Your hair looks nice today,” the secret encoded message which he hopes you pick up is, “Your hair looks nice today.” In the vast majority of cases, that’s all he means. No more. No less. There is no implication that your hair looked bad yesterday or that your makeup suffers by comparison or that you have a weight problem or that it’s time for a roll in the hay.

Furthermore, the guy is not fishing for some return compliment. It’s quite plausible that the guy in question doesn’t even view his comment as an actual compliment. Likely as not, this guy is merely making an observation akin to “Nice weather we’re having today,” or “The Dow is up ten points today,” or “The Padres are making a nice run at the division championship this year.”

So ladies, when a guy says, “Your hair looks nice today,” the correct response is, “Thank you! That’s so sweet of you to say so.”

Some examples of wrong responses are:

♠ “What was wrong with it yesterday?”

♠ “Don’t you like my mascara?”

♠ “I’m trying to lose ten pounds, so cut me some slack, all right?”

♠ “Sorry, but I’m not that easy, you dirty-minded lecher.”

•  •  • There are three essential ways in which men differ from women. These are in decreasing order of importance:

#1: Ego.

The male ego is on average different from the female ego. The male ego can drive a guy to do things that are slightly crazy or a lot crazy. There is no simple explanation for this, and asking for one is never going to get an honest answer. The male ego can get a bridge built but it can also result in a torn ACL. Go figure.

#2: Lust.

Guys are visual. The way women dress creates visual images in a guy’s brain that can linger for days, months, or even decades.

I hope I don’t have to draw a picture here, but honestly, women seem to be completely unaware that guys don’t think their dress is “cute.” Guys aren’t looking at your dress at all, ladies, they’re looking at what’s under the dress or what’s not even covered by the dress. If they like what they see, it’ll stick in their brains for a long time. You can decide for yourself whether or not you want those images in a guy’s brain.

#3: Feelings.

Guys are a lot less likely to share their feelings than women are. For most guys, feelings are private things which are none of your business. If you ask and he won’t tell, then asking again is not going to get you anywhere you want to go, but it could get you blacklisted for any future conversations. Be warned.

•  •  • | |

Men think differently than women. They don't always pay attention to detail, depending on the male. Their mind frame is different than us women.

Let’s start with the obvious: 

Men are pretty basic.  That’s not to say they aren’t complicated, thoughtful, or fully aware of what’s going on.  Most of the time they just don’t care.  Certainly not the way women do.  Ask a woman how she feels, and you’ll get a complete rundown of how she slept the night before, how bloated she feels, how upset she is because of what her BFF said, how mean her boss was, if she’s starting her period, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Ask a man how he feels, and after a quick mental check:  Am I hungry? Sleepy? Thirsty? Horny? He’ll usually answer fine. And that’s that.

((Although I am fully aware there are some feminine men who are sensitive, this is just a generalization.))

The same holds true in dialogue.  Example:

Her:  Let’s go to the mall.  There’s a big sale in the furniture store, and I saw an ad for the cutest little table that would be perfect by the couch and would set off the dark stripe in the drapes and look great with that new rug we got last week.  What do you say?

Him:  Mall?  (That’s pretty much all he heard out of the entire sentence, so that’s what he’ll react to.)

And then there’s description. A woman might spend half the afternoon trying on every item in her closet multiple times to get the absolute perfect ensemble. She may have worked on her hair for an hour and re-applied her makeup three times. When she’s finally ready, she’s a work of priceless art.

His response:  “You look hot.”

He doesn’t think in terms of her four-inch heels making her legs look great, or the cut of the dress setting off her finer attributes or disguising her less fine.  His brain doesn’t think in words like sheath, pumps, up-do, wrap, or clutch. So, if you’re in his POV, don’t even use those terms. Always keep in mind the guy you’re writing about is not your best girlfriend—don’t expect him to speak or act like her, or notice the things she would.

So here are a few simple rules for writing in a male POV.

#1: DESCRIPTION

Use as few descriptive words as possible, especially when dealing with flowers, colors, fragrances, dress styles, or spices in that dish your heroine spent all afternoon preparing (unless he’s a horticulturist, painter, designer, or chef).  You may know a dress is mauve, or lilac, or amethyst, or the color of the first early crocuses in spring. But to him it’s purple. Period.

#2: FEELINGS

Remove 99% of words dealing with emotion. Feelings in men mostly relate to the physical: pain, hunger, thirst, weariness, horniness. They rarely talk about being “upset” about something, or feeling blue, or being lonely or sad.  That’s not to say they don’t feel those things, but they won’t want to talk about it endlessly like a woman might.

#3: DIALOGUE

In dialogues between men and women, men will use fewer words than women, and will often give monosyllabic answers.  Maybe they’re afraid of saying the wrong thing and getting into trouble. Or that giving out too much information will only generate more questions and then they’ll be stuck in an endless conversation in which they have no interest whatsoever. At least that’s the way it works at my house.

(External Link: http://katlatham.com/2012/01/one-womans-tips-for-writing-in-the-male-point-of-view-guest-post-by-kaki-warner/)

So there you go with my How to WRITE IN MALE POV.  Remember to keep it basic and simple. Men are creatures of action and reaction. Talking is secondary. Don’t over-ponder, or over-analyze, and for heaven’s sake, don’t think like a girl. If I offended any guys, I'm sorry.

Next time: How to WRITE A GOOD SUMMARY

~ Absolutely_Positive ♥