Would You Say Panoply?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Hello from Toronto! With many of the Reds at Bouchercon and Red Julia is running the show from the US.  And today we’re talking about a writing (and reading) element all of us face—whether we’re male or female. Writing (and reading about) the opposite sex.

Jane doesn’t describe things the same way Jake does. Russ and Clare. Gemma and Duncan. All of us who write the opposite sex in our books—which would be, um, all of us—have to explore this minefield. 

Happily, today we have the wonderful Linda Lovely leading the way. And she has a bone to pick (see what we did there?) with writers who don't see the difference. 

Writing Men—When You’re A Woman

By Linda Lovely

Most women know there is a whole panoply of words males don’t tend to use. (Panoply is probably one of them.) Colors are an obvious place to start. My husband would never describe a room’s color as fuchsia or mauve. Nor would he describe a woman’s hair as ginger or chestnut.

Let’s suppose he met a woman friend of mine but couldn’t remember her name. If he tried to describe her, he might tell me she was short or tall, skinny or fat. He might add she had black hair, a big nose, or sizeable knockers. But, as long as she was actually wearing clothes, he would not know (or care) about the details of her outfit. Would he ever mention the brand of a pair of shoes, a purse, or a scarf? Not in a million years.

This is my starting point. If I’m writing dialogue for a man or I’m describing something in his point-of-view, I guard against using colors, brands, and other descriptors I might use if a woman were speaking. Instead I look for the types of details he might notice to communicate subtleties of appearance or class.

That’s the easy part. Listening to what the men I encounter do—and don’t—say in a variety of circumstances. Naturally, male “speak” spans a wide gamut. For example, professors, plumbers, policemen, physicians and pro-football players are bound to have different vocabularies.

The harder part is trying to make sure male characters not only talk like men but think like them.

Or should that be my goal?

 I remember hearing one woman romance author—sorry I don’t remember who—unashamedly boast she wrote characters who reflected what women WISHED their men were like. After all, it’s fiction, why not make your heroes think and act as the bulk of your readers (typically female) dream the ideal male would act and think?

Translated the author might create male characters who display all the admirable qualities women want in heroes—for example, bravery, honesty, and talented lover. However, these traits are also coupled with ones more often linked to the fairer sex—tenderness, empathy, and, most of all, a willingness to verbally share their most intimate feelings and romantic sentiments.

Yes, I know there are men who exhibit the best of yin and yang. I don’t mean to imply men can’t be tender, kind, loving, and empathetic. It’s just that I rarely see them expressing their feelings in the same ways women do. They act. They seldom engage in long monologues about their feelings,

So, let’s suppose you want to make your male characters as realistic as possible, how do you do it?

When I’m writing dialogue, I ask: would my character really say this? Would he use these words? How would he show anger or love, frustration or fear? How would his language change if he were talking with male buddies? With strangers? With a lover, a daughter, a mother? All of us speak differently in private and public settings. The make-up of our audience also has a huge impact on how we express ourselves.

Even with my best efforts, I can easily miss the mark. That’s why I depend on two honest male critique partners to set me straight when I wander off base. In fact, my best advice to women authors is to find males who will read your manuscript and tell you when your men actually sound like women.

While Bones To Pick, my new humorous Brie Hooker Mystery series is “cozy” and doesn’t include even R-rated sex scenes, one of my male critique partners has helped me in the past write better sex scenes for my romantic thrillers. How? He explained in some detail about how circumstances impact the rise and fall of the potential for romantic fulfillment—information only a person with an owner’s manual understands.

If you find a critique partner of the opposite sex, it’s a win-win situation. You can alert him if his female characters fall within a realistic behavior spectrum.

What’s the payoff in attempting to create realistic men—and women—characters? I think it invites readers to more readily suspend disbelief when your characters are thrown into the unusual or dangerous situations that most readers (fortunately) never encounter. 

HANK: SO interesting! Jonathan often reads my pages—but I’ve never asked him: would a man say that? How about you, Reds and readers? Any secrets you’ve discovered about writing the opposite sex?

LINDA LOVELY

 Over the past five years, hundreds of mystery/thriller writers have met Linda Lovely   at check-in for the annual Writers’ Police Academy, which she helps organize. While her new Brie Hooker Mystery series may be “cozy,” she weaves in lots of adrenaline-packed scenes. Hardly a surprise given all the options she’s scoped out at the Writers’ Police Academy. Lovely finds writing pure fiction isn’t a huge stretch given the years she’s spent penning PR and advertising copy. She writes a blend of mystery, thrills, and humor, chuckling as she plots to “disappear” the types of characters who annoy her. Quite satisfying plus there’s no need to pester relatives for bail. She served as president of her local Sisters in Crime chapter for five years and also belongs to International Thriller Writers and Romance Writers of America. She’s the award-winning author of five prior mystery/suspense/thriller novels. To learn more, visit her website: www. LindaLovely.com

FB: @LindaLovelyAuthor

Twitter: @LovelyAuthor

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