Male and Female Writers

[sun-star]

Do you think men and women write differently (fiction or non-fiction) and if so, in what ways?

And do you prefer one to the other?

[Lief Erikson]

Not me. I've read from some excellent authors, male and female. I don't think there's anything inherent in one type that gives them an extra edge . Though I know the question could be taken differently, to say men and women may have different natural abilities or tendencies.

Have you noticed any such things in writing?

[sun-star]

I was just curious as to what people thought, really. I've heard some people say that they think men and women use imagery differently, have different approaches to characters, etc. Sometimes I see it, sometimes I don't.

I'll try and think of some examples...

[Beren3000]

I haven't read many female writers, but I found no differences inherent to gender when it came to writing. I'd think that female writers would tend to use "dreamy" imagery and metaphors from nature. However, I don't think that holds for all women writers (nor the opposite hold for male writers). I think that the main factor influencing a writer is his/her own personal experience, regardless of gender.

[BeardofPants]

I find that male writers tend to be a bit more matter-of-fact, which is important in the genre of sci-fi. Having said that, I tend to read mainly male writers.

[Telcontar_Dunedain]

Not any more than one male author to another.

[Starr Polish]

I believe that, unless the author is very good, characterization might be able to "give it away." It would obviously be easier to write a realistic point of view of a character who is the same gender as you are. I haven't seen too much of this, though, because I try to read only good books.

[Wayfarer]

I acutally do think that Male and Female authors tend to write differently. Having read hundreds of different authors, spanning both sexes and all genres, I've noticed that, as BoP said, men tend to be more fact-oriented, and more concrete, and women tend to go off on all these little details and flowery embellishments. Men also tend to focus more on the active aspects of the story, wheras women tend to focus more on the passive and reactive aspects.

I generally prefer men's writing to women's, but many of my favorite works have been written in collaboration between the two - The Eddingses, for example.

[Starr Polish]

[QUOTE=Wayfarer]Men also tend to focus more on the active aspects of the story, wheras women tend to focus more on the passive and reactive aspects.QUOTE]

Which, when you thinka bout it, seems strange, since men are supposedly more "visually oriented." Ultimately this isn't true, though...so...yeah. This post was a tad pointless.

[BeardofPants]

Originally Posted by Wayfarer

I acutally do think that Male and Female authors tend to write differently. Having read hundreds of different authors, spanning both sexes and all genres, I've noticed that, as BoP said, men tend to be more fact-oriented, and more concrete, and women tend to go off on all these little details and flowery embellishments. Men also tend to focus more on the active aspects of the story, wheras women tend to focus more on the passive and reactive aspects.

Wayfarer!! *gives ickle diddicums a big hugsy wugsy*

Yeah, you kinda put it more clearly than I did. I think that's why I generally tend to gravitate towards male writers, and the various sci-fi sub-genres, because of that matter-of-fact style, with its lack of "flowery embellishments". Having said that, oftentimes, the fantasy genre can tend to be the male writer equivalent of a mills and boons romance or something. Honestly.

[Wayfarer]

Originally Posted by BeardofPants

Wayfarer!! *gives ickle diddicums a big hugsy wugsy*

Eep?

Originally Posted by Starr Polish

Which, when you thinka bout it, seems strange, since men are supposedly more "visually oriented."

I do think that there is some correlation. 'Visually Oriented' translates into 'things you can see', which can probably explain why we tend more towards the concrete and factual.

Originally Posted by BeardofPants

...I generally tend to gravitate towards male writers, and the various sci-fi sub-genres, because of that matter-of-fact style, with its lack of "flowery embellishments". Having said that, oftentimes, the fantasy genre can tend to be the male writer equivalent of a mills and boons romance or something. Honestly.

No Kidding.

[IronParrot]

In his last novel, Timequake, Kurt Vonnegut makes a distinction between what he calls "swoopers" and "bashers." Swoopers, which he associates primarily (but not exclusively) to women writers, let everything go in a downpour of words, then go back and revise. Bashers, which he claims are predominantly men, perfect every sentence or paragraph before proceeding to the next.

Take that for what you will. For me, the difference lies primarily in writer's voice, the portrayal of the genders, and perhaps even the predominance of one gender over another in the work itself.

Particularly skilled writers know how to blur the line and emulate the opposite sex, which makes their characters all the more believable. Unless it's in the first person, of course, in which case they are perfectly within their bounds to work with a limited understanding of the human condition.

[ethuiliel]

It depends on the writer, but I do think there's some slight patterns, but they aren't always followed. Anyways, here are some of the things I noticed:

Women:

• are more likely to have a female main character than male writers, but write about both genders.
• are more likely to have romance... either as the main story or a sub-plot (though men write romance too... Tolkien for example wrote quite a few in LotR and in Sil )
• Often have more detail

Men:

• usually have a male main character
• have more action, and often more battle scenes etc.

[EarthBound]

Originally Posted by IronParrot

In his last novel, Timequake, Kurt Vonnegut makes a distinction between what he calls "swoopers" and "bashers." Swoopers, which he associates primarily (but not exclusively) to women writers, let everything go in a downpour of words, then go back and revise. Bashers, which he claims are predominantly men, perfect every sentence or paragraph before proceeding to the next

Ok ok so I get published occasionaly with non-fiction articles, science related and quite boring to anyone outside my profession. But I've writen a book recently and have started another and I must say that without a doubt . . . I'm a swooper. So, what does "IT ALL MEAN" ???

I think it's more fun to spill a story out and edit it afterwards with other authors and good beer.

Well, my favorite authors are men, but it may be that women are not overly published in SciFi or it is a genre that attracts few of us.

I've also noticed that while there are some very funny female writers they are few and far between to getting themselves published. (they're all online on these boards, instead! ).