tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post7972141915589117870..comments2024-03-28T02:15:06.910-07:00Comments on Tossing It Out: Writing from the perspective of the opposite sex – can it work? A Cally Jackson Guest PostArlee Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-51175801970356404662012-11-13T21:09:25.824-08:002012-11-13T21:09:25.824-08:00Thanks so much for having me, Arlee. I've real...Thanks so much for having me, Arlee. I've really enjoyed the conversation! :-) Cally Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08313803959936813426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-35727670021659109932012-11-13T07:45:13.121-08:002012-11-13T07:45:13.121-08:00Great topic, Cally and thank you so much for takin...Great topic, Cally and thank you so much for taking on this guest post. Some outstanding comments as well. I particularly relate to what Larry said. I've written a couple of things from a female perspective--not sure how accurately I hit the target, but I felt like it was okay. I have a couple of ideas sketched out for a black character, but I haven't tried to tackle those yet and might not for the reason Robert B. Parker stated as related by Larry.<br /><br />Lee<br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-16475833853036953432012-11-13T07:16:47.471-08:002012-11-13T07:16:47.471-08:00He had a boner in the water!!! Good idea rewriting...He had a boner in the water!!! Good idea rewriting the book from another perspective.Powdered Toast Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18195170076576384695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-27389720877544302582012-11-13T05:17:59.212-08:002012-11-13T05:17:59.212-08:00Like Cally said, writing from the pov of the oppos...Like Cally said, writing from the pov of the opposite sex does take some stepping outside of yourself and the help of others is invaluable. <br /><br />Hope the book does well. J.L. Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05666634455836834179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-16021927773089842672012-11-12T20:47:31.651-08:002012-11-12T20:47:31.651-08:00Although it is not a craft I have practiced, I was...Although it is not a craft I have practiced, I was an English major with a Writing minor in college (switched to Accounting with only a semester to go), and I have several unfinished manuscripts in a file drawer just waiting for me to get a creative surge going.<br /><br />When I did write, I always wrote in the first person, and think I would have found trying to write first-person as someone I am not ( a black man, a woman) would be difficult.<br /><br />I was lucky enough to see Robert B. Parker speak once, and asked him why he'd never done a book focusing on Hawk (the black "super tough" guy), and his response was that having never been black, he did not think he could make it realistic.<br /><br />I felt vindicated.<br /><br />I think those of you who feel it can be done are certainly correct-but I don't thini it would be easy!<br /><br />LarryDiscConnectedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07013919800637508392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-47331181198201055192012-11-12T16:25:35.211-08:002012-11-12T16:25:35.211-08:00I enjoy writing from a male's perspective. Hmm...I enjoy writing from a male's perspective. Hmm...wonder what that means, LOL!<br /><br />Nice post, Cally. I really enjoyed The Big Smoke!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-79348409779777815892012-11-12T16:21:28.029-08:002012-11-12T16:21:28.029-08:00Thanks so much, Damyanti! I'm so happy with th...Thanks so much, Damyanti! I'm so happy with the book cover! <br /><br />And yes, you clearly like a challenge - good on you! :-) Cally Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08313803959936813426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-30225499045025830432012-11-12T15:55:01.707-08:002012-11-12T15:55:01.707-08:00I'm a big fan of "Write what you don'...I'm a big fan of "Write what you don't know."<br /><br />Some of my first anthologised stories were written from the male POV, and involved gay men, old men, men with psychological issues. I'm yet to do a teen voice though.<br /><br />In my WIP, I have 6 voices, and I just realized they're evenly matched : a little boy, a little girl, two adult men, and two adult women.<br /><br />I think it is fun to write in the voice of the opposite gender!<br /><br />Great post Cally, and what a wow book cover!<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04283371140346602856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-75353772847008492332012-11-12T15:38:04.626-08:002012-11-12T15:38:04.626-08:00L. Diane – it’s interesting that you preferred wri...L. Diane – it’s interesting that you preferred writing from the male POV. Once I got into the swing of things, I enjoyed writing from Seb’s perspective more than Ceara’s because he was more different to me and therefore more fun! <br /><br />Stephen – a female assassin would be a very difficult perspective to wrap your head around! <br /><br />Teresa – thanks! I agree. <br /><br />Southpaw – it’s definitely a great use of beta readers – and teenager brothers. hehe… <br /><br />Nancy – it’s fascinating that you didn’t even consider it. I do have a tendency to overthink pretty much everything so it’s no wonder I dwelled on it so much! :-)<br /><br />DG – husbands come in handy sometimes, don’t they? ;-) <br /><br />Fa – you’re right – third person perspectives give you more leeway than first person. That’s why I originally wrote The Big Smoke in third person! It works really well for some books, but it became obvious that first person was the way to go with The Big Smoke. <br />Cally Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08313803959936813426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-87255756839662318672012-11-12T13:27:24.196-08:002012-11-12T13:27:24.196-08:00I actually hadn't ever thought about the diffi...I actually hadn't ever thought about the difficulty of writing for the other sex, silly me. I mean, my current NaNoWriMo novel is predominately from a young boy's perspective, but it's in the 3rd person. Which is quite different than the 1st person voice. A little ambiguity can be allowed if the narrative is strictly and observer. Now it feels a little like cheating, after seeing how much work you've put into your research :-P Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05204930915192187217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-2498014069335134952012-11-12T11:11:32.921-08:002012-11-12T11:11:32.921-08:00My main characters in 2 out of three novels are me...My main characters in 2 out of three novels are men, but they are balanced by strong women. For some male moments, I have to check with hubs. <br /><br />The story would determine what the MC's gender will be. Good luck with The Big Smoke!D.G. Hudsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06213237734772028645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-26280370158494517292012-11-12T10:10:13.571-08:002012-11-12T10:10:13.571-08:00I never even gave it a second thought when I wrote...I never even gave it a second thought when I wrote my debut novel, The Mistaken. It just felt so natural to write from the male perspective. Perhaps that's because I've always felt so comfortable around men & why most of my friends are guys. I just "get" them, much more so than my own gender. Nancy Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05735642863696266005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-17458032640563829092012-11-12T09:49:16.754-08:002012-11-12T09:49:16.754-08:00I've read some good books written by the oppos...I've read some good books written by the opposite sex of the main character.<br /><br />I think this is a great use for beta readers of the gender of your MC. ;)Southpawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16539290964546504171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-75211565425109162982012-11-12T06:35:48.209-08:002012-11-12T06:35:48.209-08:00Great post. I think the better your imagination is...Great post. I think the better your imagination is and your observing skills are--one can certainly write from the opposite sex perspective. T. Powell Coltrinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02160774009926623671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-85317756159670407452012-11-12T06:31:39.414-08:002012-11-12T06:31:39.414-08:00I don;t write from the opposite sex per se, but I ...I don;t write from the opposite sex per se, but I do need to use a woman's POV from time to time since I have a female assassin who is the girl friend of my protagonist. So I write the scene the best I can, then shift back to the male dominated POVs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-64038034630526317432012-11-12T04:43:01.588-08:002012-11-12T04:43:01.588-08:00Each book in my YA series is from a male and femal...Each book in my YA series is from a male and female POV, and two of the books really focus on the guy. I enjoyed writing from the male POV and found it easier. Men are so much more focused and simple, and the emotions don't often get in the way.L. Diane Wolfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06425864276166334896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-30896485126630479052012-11-12T03:41:09.945-08:002012-11-12T03:41:09.945-08:00That was supposed to be YeamieWaffles and Alex, no...That was supposed to be YeamieWaffles and Alex, not Waffles! I think I need to get some sleep! :-)Cally Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08313803959936813426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-50422266508436529902012-11-12T03:38:28.766-08:002012-11-12T03:38:28.766-08:00YeamieWaffles and Waffles, you've both touched...YeamieWaffles and Waffles, you've both touched on something that crossed my mind a number of times while writing this post - i.e. writing from the perspective of the opposite sex is just one of many challenging perspectives. <br /><br />It's just as challenging to write from the perspective of someone's who's had totally different life experiences to yours because they wouldn't necessarily react the same way as you in situations. <br /><br />Thanks for commenting! Cally Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08313803959936813426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-71543624862305771592012-11-12T03:05:44.926-08:002012-11-12T03:05:44.926-08:00Now you understand my concerns when I introduced m...Now you understand my concerns when I introduced my first female character in my second book. That was one of the reasons I wanted one of my critique partners to be a woman. (And my third book, which tacks on parenthood, something I know nothing about, was an even bigger challenge.)Alex J. Cavanaughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09770065693345181702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-45523290341422535332012-11-12T02:08:57.302-08:002012-11-12T02:08:57.302-08:00I think that I agree with your sentiments that for...I think that I agree with your sentiments that for it to work you really need to do adequate research and really try to put yourself in the shoes of that person. Personally I highly doubt that I could write from the perspective of a lady but I'm not as talented a writer as you seem to be Cally, nowhere near it.<br /><br />Recently I was considering writing about somebody who's occupation was as a paramedic before I realised that I had no clue what being a paramedic entails haha so I guess writing as a female would be something even harder, I'd really need to step outside myself as you say Cally, thanks for dropping by to write such an awesome post.Outcasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03400755239612162157noreply@blogger.com