veronica_rich (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
veronica_rich) wrote2007-04-14 12:38 pm
veronica_rich) wrote2007-04-14 12:38 pm
Writing considerations
Who else out there is female but prefers writing male characters to female ones, by and large? I don't mean in the sense of having someone to lust over or wish you were with - I'm talking about having empathy with that character enough to want to tell a story about him.
While there are certainly moments in time I wish I could escape the biological processes of being female (including water retention), the fact is that I like this gender better than I'd like being a man, I suspect. And I confess, also partly because it's still socially easier to openly sigh over men if you're a woman, rather than if you're a gay man. There are other reasons, but I'll not go into those.
Certainly I prefer watching male characters largely if I think they're attractive, both in body and interest of character. But there's something beyond that, and I think it may be more than simply "the guys get the best adventures." I never felt the need to write about Buffy or Bones (not the "Trek" one) or Xena, though I appreciate and enjoy all of them. The last female I really would have had any interest in writing about, had I been old enough (I was 5), was Wonder Woman/Diana. There are plenty of female characters I could pick if I simply wanted to BE them or emulate them.
But that's not why I write. I write fanfic because I see something there that either the creator didn't, or didn't have time or inclination to explore further. For me, fanfic - and original fic - is character-driven. I'm not so good with the plot, I usually treat it as secondary (and I pay for it with frequent writer's block, because it's sort of necessary to drive things along). And when I write, I generally prefer to write male characters, both in fanfic and original fic.
I've tried writing female characters, but I don't enjoy it as much - even being female doesn't seem to help much in that respect. I simply don't find them as fascinating as male characters. When I was younger, this made me feel like a traitor to the cause, but I eventually learned to accept what I am and concentrate on the choices that stem from that.
While there are certainly moments in time I wish I could escape the biological processes of being female (including water retention), the fact is that I like this gender better than I'd like being a man, I suspect. And I confess, also partly because it's still socially easier to openly sigh over men if you're a woman, rather than if you're a gay man. There are other reasons, but I'll not go into those.
Certainly I prefer watching male characters largely if I think they're attractive, both in body and interest of character. But there's something beyond that, and I think it may be more than simply "the guys get the best adventures." I never felt the need to write about Buffy or Bones (not the "Trek" one) or Xena, though I appreciate and enjoy all of them. The last female I really would have had any interest in writing about, had I been old enough (I was 5), was Wonder Woman/Diana. There are plenty of female characters I could pick if I simply wanted to BE them or emulate them.
But that's not why I write. I write fanfic because I see something there that either the creator didn't, or didn't have time or inclination to explore further. For me, fanfic - and original fic - is character-driven. I'm not so good with the plot, I usually treat it as secondary (and I pay for it with frequent writer's block, because it's sort of necessary to drive things along). And when I write, I generally prefer to write male characters, both in fanfic and original fic.
I've tried writing female characters, but I don't enjoy it as much - even being female doesn't seem to help much in that respect. I simply don't find them as fascinating as male characters. When I was younger, this made me feel like a traitor to the cause, but I eventually learned to accept what I am and concentrate on the choices that stem from that.
no subject
Ever since I was a kid, I've also preferred drawing male characters. Which, according to my experiences, is the slightest bit unusual, as, supposely, one can draw one's own sex better. (I've spent so many years drawing only men now that this certainly isn't true anymore)
I wonder if the same would be true of writing, although I firmly believe the essential emotions are true of men and women. Maybe that's a delusion, and I'm writing feminised males. I doubt it, though.
As for the why...in fanfic, I really think a LOT of it is simply due to the characters I like. So far, I have only written LOTR and POTC, and neither movie has females I like; and I believe I have a fair number of reasons for it, none of which has to do with their sex, except perhaps one: I like to stay historically correct, and due to writing in historical fandoms, that allows far less freedom with female characters. It's impossible to write a woman in the Navy, it requires a LOT more explanation to give a woman as pirate a plausible backstory than a man.
no subject
And when it comes to women and what they can and can't do, I believe there's too much political bullshit that can be read into certain things. Either they're capable of it and it's explained, or they're not, and that's explained. If it can't be explained adequately, the character doesn't need to be doing it - female or male. (I would *love* to watch Elizabeth Swann and not feel like I'm going to be quizzed later by half of fandom about what Friedan ideals she is or isn't exemplifying.)
no subject
There's two female characters I've so far come across thatI'd consider writing if I were in the fandom. Cuddy from House M.D. and Jadzia Dax from Deep Space 9.