By Ronie Kendig
“I don’t mean to
be chauvinistic, but you don’t write like a girl.”
That comment made
by a radio host during an interview still makes me smile. I think it was a
compliment, and since my brand is Rapid-Fire Fiction¸ I’ll take it.
What the host noticed is that I write very raw, real male characters. I’ve been
asked many times how I do that, and I honestly didn’t know until I analyzed my
own writing, but more importantly, the male point of view (POV).
Writing is a
literary expression of who we are, what we feel and how we think. It would be
correct to say that in order to write the male POV accurately , one must
understand the way men think (I hear many ladies snickering right now). That
line of thought led me to the Gender Genie and/or Gender Guesser, an online
program that analyzes chunks of writing to determine the author’s gender. The
algorithm used is based off a study done between Moshe Koppel, Bar-Ilan
University, Israel, and Shlomo Argamon, Illinois Institute of Technology, which
found indicators within documents that were distinctively male and
distinctively female.
The point is,
while generalizations about males and females are often exaggerated, they are
based in truth—there are differences in the way men and women talk and think.
Writers have the great task of translating the known differences into
plausible, compelling fiction and characters. To do that, we refer back to the
science. And remember, these are generalizations.
·
Men provide answers that
assume the receiver has no knowledge of the topic/object being discussed. In
other words, they talk and act to provide INFORMATION.
·
Men tend to state
demands (“Give me an iced tea.”) rather than preferences (“I’d like a Diet
Coke, please.”) the way a woman would.
·
Men usually do not
answer all questions or respond to everything said
·
Men are one-box
thinkers. They say what they mean and focus on one topic. Typically, there’s no
reading between the lines.
·
While men internalize
their thoughts, they are generally not thinking about feelings. Paragraphs
of internal diatribe on feelings do not belong in a man’s POV (or at least not
heavily).
·
Men are not verbose.
They take the shortest possible route through a discussion; unlike ladies who
can cover ten topics with one conversation, (we’re just talented that way!).
·
While a man might notice
a woman’s curves (just keeping it real), they aren’t likely to notice what the
woman is wearing (“Hey, is that a new Kate Spade dress?”).
·
At a dinner party, the
men are more prone to chat up friends, but women will have stronger radars,
noticing not just who is there, but relational aspects (Why is
John sitting so close to Sue?) because women are about INVOLVEMENT, connecting,
relationships.
·
Use appropriate verbs.
Men do not giggle. They chuckle. They guffaw (a strange word in and of itself).
Those are the
quick tips to keeping a guy sounding like a guy. They’re a bit more complex
than that, but those tips will go a long way in maintaining a solid masculine
voice in writing the male POV. Probably the biggest thing I’d say to a writer:
let your guy be a guy.
________________________________________________________________
Ronie
Kendig grew up an Army brat. She married a veteran, and together their lives
are never dull with four children and two dogs--a Golden Retriever and a
Maltese Menace. Ronie's degree in psychology has helped her pen novels of
intense, raw characters. Since launching onto the publishing scene, Ronie's
Rapid-Fire Fiction has hit the CBA Bestseller List, won the prestigious Christy
Award, named to 2012 Bestselling Fiction by Christianbook.com, finaled in
numerous contests and reader awards, including ACFW Carol Awards, RWA's Faith,
Hope, & Love's Inspirational Readers' Choice Awards, Christian Retailing's
Readers' Choice Awards, INSPY Award, The Christian Manifesto Lime Awards, and
FamilyFiction's Readers' Choice Awards. Ronie's titles include her debut title
and spy thriller--DEAD RECKONING--the Discarded Heroes series (NIGHTSHADE,
DIGITALIS, WOLFSBANE, FIRETHORN), the A Breed Apart series (TRINITY:MILITARYWAR DOG, TALON:COMBAT TRACKING TEAM, BEOWULF: EXPLOSIVES DETECTION DOG) and the
upcoming (2014) The Quiet Professionals (RAPTOR 6, HAWK, FALCON). Ronie's
writings are also in the 7 Hours direct-to-digital novella collection (WHOLE
PIECES), Central Park Rendezvous novella collection (DREAM A LITTLE DREAM), and
the Denali Dreams novella collection (DARING HEIGHTS, TAKING FLIGHT). Ronie can
be found at www.roniekendig.com, on Facebook
(www.facebook.com/rapidfirefiction), Twitter (@roniekendig
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