Plot Monkeys

Jeannie asked this a few weeks ago in the comments section…and it’s a GREAT question! Thanks!

How does a female author really know how a male thinks and feels? Do you ever ask a male if in this situation or that he would think it like you write it?

CP: GREAT question. First, I went to a workshop years ago by Elda Minger and I will never forget some of the advice. Real men don’t apologize or ask questions/permission. OK I don’t always stick to this but it helps as a guide. There are also words I think of as girly that I just would never let my men use or at least I try to catch it. I have asked my husband on occasion too. But I think there is a huge difference between male and female POV, thought, dialogue and it’s important to try to be aware of it when writing.

LK: Great question! As a reader, it always really drove me crazy when I read books and a hero would think, say, or do something a guy SO wouldn’t think/say/do! So I am very conscious of that as I write. My hubby and I joke all the time that I was the guy in our last life–I’m a linear thinker, a little aggressive, not terribly sentimental, and a total remote hog. Anyway, for me, for some reason the guy’s pov comes pretty easily. My husband reads all my books (so does my Dad) and if I do slip up hubby will point it out. Most of my readers (and reviewers, really) often mention my “guys being guys” as a strong point in my books, so I think I am doing it right. But I have to say I have a couple of rules: Heroes don’t whine. They don’t jabber. They don’t talk about their feelings until forced to, they think about sex a lot, and they speak differently to other men than they do the heroine.

JEL: I listen to guys a lot. I grew up with three brothers and each of them had at least three friends at the house all the time, all the way through, well…now. I still see most of them and I listen a lot. I watch men on television and in movies. I still slip up, I’m sure, but when I do my final read through on a book, I’m very conscious of point of view and try to really take out anything that doesn’t fit. I hope I do a good job! None of the men who read my books (my older brother, my father and my husband’s two best friends) ever complain!

JD: I also grew up with two older brothers, but unfortunately I never paid much attention to their “male talk”, LOL! We all know that men do think differently than women, and I try to keep that in mind as I write. However, when I do slip up, Carly, who reads my stuff, is quick to point it out and has no problem telling me when my hero sounds like a sissy!