The Pyrenees---Southern France

The Pyrenees---Southern France

Friday, February 7, 2014

Writing About Women When You're a Man

Sean McLachlan has written about history. He's written about travel. And now, he's written about a post-apocalyptic world...and his newest novel, Radio Hope, is now out. 

Today, on this guest post, Sean writes on writing about women...from a man's perspective.

One of the big challenges and rewards of writing fiction is getting into different people’s mindsets. The biggest mental leap for me is writing about the opposite sex.

Of course, I’ve been around women all my life, and I’ve been married to a female scientist for 13 years, so I know a little about women, and I know a LOT about sex discrimination in the sciences. Don’t get me started.

But secondhand knowledge is just that; I don’t really know what it’s like to be a woman and I never will. Luckily there are ways around this problem.

One of the protagonists in my post-apocalyptic novel Radio Hope is Annette Cruz. She’s a gunslinging bouncer at a bar in a shantytown filled with scavengers and drifters. She couldn’t be more different than her creator—she's a Latina who’s a crack shot, physically aggressive, and has survived everything from bandit attacks and toxic waste to starvation and blizzards. The guy who thought her up is only a mediocre shot and has been mildly uncomfortable a few times in his life.

So how do I get into this woman’s head? How does a female writer get into a man’s head? The answer is simple—focus on the similarities. Annette Cruz is more than the woman who will kick your ass if you get out of line; she’s also a single mother. The father of her child died long ago and she’s raising a ten-year-old boy alone.

Parenthood is something I can relate to, and looking back at the fiction I’ve written over the past decade I notice that none of my characters were parents until I became one myself. That bond is a strong one. It redefines you. I can relate to Annette’s worries about her child growing up in a bad neighborhood, or not being able to give him everything he deserves. And while I’m not a single parent, I do a fair amount of single parenting when my wife is away at conferences.

(And she’ll kill me if I don’t mention that she does plenty herself when I’m traveling for work. There, I’m safe.)

Annette also experiences a lot of things I have—annoying people at work, worries over the future, regrets from the past, and a whole host of other emotions that all people experience.

So if a writer thinks things through, it’s possible to write convincingly about the opposite gender. I avoid sex scenes, though. I just don’t want to think about that from a woman’s perspective. Yeah, I’m a guy. Luckily Annette’s going through a bit of a dry period at the moment. For some reason, working in a dive bar breaking up knife fights keeps her from meeting the right kind of man. I wonder why that is?

Sean McLachlan is an archaeologist turned writer who is the author of several books of fiction and history. Check him out on his blog Midlist Writer.


Radio Hope can be borrowed free if you're an Amazon Prime member. Check it out on Amazon.


In a world shattered by war, pollution and disease. . .
A gunslinging mother longs to find a safe refuge for her son.
A frustrated revolutionary delivers water to villagers living on a toxic waste dump.
In humanity’s last city, the assistant mayor hopes he will never have to take command.
One thing gives them the promise of a better future--Radio Hope, a mysterious station that broadcasts vital information on surviving in a blighted world. But when a mad prophet and his army of fanatics march out of the wildlands on a crusade to purify the land with blood and fire, all three will find their lives intertwining, and changing forever.

27 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Sean--You're more than welcome. Thanks for writing the guest post. I am 70 pages away from finishing "Radio Hope." I plan on writing an Amazon review and a post about it.

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  2. I don't want to think about sex scenes either!
    It is a challenge to see thing from a woman's viewpoint. I didn't even attempt it until my second book. I also don't have kids, so attempting that in the third book was even tougher.

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    1. Alex--Are you intimating that women are complicated? ;)

      Thanks for stopping by...

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  3. Hi Sean, it's interesting to hear your POV on writing from a woman's perspective. I have the same problem with my male characters, but I persevere and try to get input from males regarding the male way of looking at life.

    Thanks for having one of my favorite bloggers, Sioux.

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    1. D.G.--He is one of my favorites as well. I plan on writing about "Radio Hope" in my next post.

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  4. Ah but focusing on the similarities can result in a female character who is basically a man in a woman suit. I'm not saying Annette Cruz is like that, because i haven't read the book. I'm just talking generalities, and I see this a lot in movies, novels and tv.

    I think the differences are more telling, and it requires sharp observation to get the way the opposite sex talks (same words, wildly different languages), moves, and reacts.

    Good luck with your book, and thanks to Sioux for a fascinating guest post.

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    1. Fireblossom--I am about 70 pages away from finishing "Radio Hope" and I don't see Cruz as a man with breasts taking the place of a penis. At least I don't see her as a poorly-written character.

      I'm glad you enjoyed the post. It's always fascinating--in my opinion--to find out what goes in writers' heads.

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  5. Writing anyone who isn't me is a challenge, but I guess that's why we write. To explore ideas and things that we don't necessarily understand. Good stuff.

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    1. Rusty Carl--I agree. I enjoyed Sean's post as well. And Sean has succeeded in doing something--so far--that is difficult for a writer to do: he has managed to keep me engaged, despite "Radio Hope" not being the kind of book I ever read. (THAT is a sign of something that's "good stuff.")

      Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment...

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  6. I'm an Amazon Prime member. My son the rush-order king talked me into it. I'll have to check out that borrowing feature.

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    1. Val--I'm enjoying the book--I'm about 70 pages from the end. I think you might like it as well...

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    2. People are borrowing it on the Kindle Lending Library. This is the first time I've published a book exclusively to Amazon in order to take advantage of this feature. We shall see how it works over the next year or so.

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  7. Yes, I look for commonalities, too, when creating characters. Kids, dogs, even owls, I can write 'em all. But a man? Forget it. :-)

    (Seriously, sounds like an interesting--and intriguing--novel! Thanks for sharing, Sioux, and good luck, Sean!)

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    1. Cathy--Yeah, men are tough to write (and yet so simple to figure out).

      You're welcome...I'm just glad Sean agreed to do a guest post. It's always cool to open up a writer's head and see what's going on...

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  8. Sounds like a fascinating book! Thanks for a great post.

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    1. Tammy--I am enjoying "Radio Hope" so far, because even though I never go for post-apocalyptic novels, this one has me hooked.

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  9. A woman who can kick a mans ass is everyman's fantasy.

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    1. Michael--Then Annette Cruz is the woman for you, because she does some serious butt-kicking in "Radio Hope."

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    2. Gun-toting Latinas have always been a favorite topic of mine. :-) I married a Spanish astronomer who kicks intellectual butt, but I don't think she's a very good shot. Not much chance to practice in Europe.

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  10. I have a hard time allowing my characters to even think differently than I do, like being evil or calculating say, so I don't think I could allow them to be a different sex!

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    1. Claudia--I have trouble with fiction, too. It's much easier (for me) to write creative nonfiction.

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  11. Great post, and thanks, Sioux, for introducing me to this author. His MC sounds pretty awesome. Writing in the romance genre, I do write from both the male and female perspective. Not sure if I've nailed it or not, though my beta reader/critique partner had no complaints. I don't write open door sex scenes (I'll take you right up to the door, though, lol) so I can't speak to that.

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  12. Lisa--I'm lost when it comes to writing those stories (What are "open door sex scenes"?) so I'm REALLY limited when it comes to my writing.

    I just finished Radio Hope and enjoyed it. Before Sean offered to be my beta reader, I had no idea what that was, as well. So now my writing education is being furthered even more.

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  13. Interesting perspective. I think you do have to develop some sort of connection with your characters. I look at it as "becoming" them, for lack of a better word. Sort of like what an actor does when playing a part, if that makes any sense.

    Pat
    Critter Alley

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    1. Pat--It makes a lot of sense. The few times I've written fiction, I sit and think, 'What would ____ do? How would they react? What kind of clothes would they wear?' and so on.

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  14. Thanks for sharing. Interesting perspective. I once wrote a minor character and then changed the gender and in that case it worked. Many personality traits and behaviors are human, not strictly male or female.

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Thanks for your comments. I appreciate you taking the time to stop by...