Hi,
Just on the men's psyche subject, I'd like to ad my two cents.
Like Phil says, they are not aliens, and they are human exactly like women. But they feel, think and act differently from women. Culture indeed has a lot to do with it,but the most important differences are strictly biological. They have a way to approach things that it's just... different.Not better, not worse, merely different.
If it helps of some consolation, they are at loss with us too.
Phil's advice about reading books or magazines made by men from a masculine POV is an excellent suggestion. And certainly her choice of Mishima is very appropriate in this context.
Concerning characterizations and what MissBehavin says of getting someone else's POV when you are in doubt about it and how it fit in your story, she hits right in the nail. This is also a very helpful tip, indeed.
As much as it was said about getting a thorough beta reader, and if you can get more than one at once, even better because you can make cross references in many points, and have the perception of the general reader most of the times, which helps in clarify some points that while can be perfectly clear to you, might be more than obscure for the reader. (remember: you know the plot beforehand, and all those little details that might lay in the background, unseen for the common eye).
About editing, each one has his or her method. Personally, I do a very little editing while writing. Then I simply let it rest. After at least a couple of days, I go again through it, and while I read, make the first major changes (repeated words, wrong wording, etc). Then, I let it rest again. I go through it again, and then I sent it to my beta readers (who, btw, usually go along the whole process from the initial version of each scene, and make the suggestions while I'm writing the first draft). When they return it, I do the second serious 'cleaning' , I revise all the extra suggestions, and discuss them with my beta. and if everything is ok, then I post. If not, I re-write the parts in question, and re send to the beta. at the end of the day, I can tell you the chapter by heart, with every comma and question mark.
Something I forgot, but phil's comment reminded me: as inspiration strikes in the more whimsical ways and moments, when a scene comes to you, write it. No matter it will be part of chapter 22 and you have just started the prologue.Later, when the story progresses, you surely will have to do rewriting to make it fit, and also, to write the (damn) bridges to unite these loose chunks you've been writing. Did I mention that I HATE bridges, I am severely allergic to bridges and I abhor bridges? Well, now you know. Hehehe... In brief, sometimes, those so called bridges between scenes or chunks can be real PITA.
Take care
Firuze
----- Original Message -----
From: spiritus_saitou
To: SHQ_Spy_Division@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, April 24, 2004 12:43 AM
Subject: [SHQ_Spy_Division] Something I forgot to mention...
The idea of being a woman writing a man's point of view...
The fact is, it isn't just men who seem like aliens... just being
human is enough. ;-D Amazingly, men are human. They generally have
the same hopes & dreams, the same fears, the same basic needs of
being loved and secure... it simply often gets expressed differently,
partly because of biology and partly because of culture. They live
with enormous pressure to be what society says they should be just
like women do. That those expectations are different is really
irrelevent --- think in terms of the kinds of stresses, the hurts,
the insults, the frustration, the wishing it could be otherwise that
you as a woman encounter when you try to do something that goes
against what is generally expected or assumed about women
culturally. If for some very rare reason you've never encountered
that, think of what women who were (and are) fighting for women's
rights have gone through. Men have faced the same prejudices and
pains. To feel & need is *human*... to want love, have children, the
need to cry, et al. is all human. Don't get too hung up on specifics
of gender and try to concentrate on the universal that speaks to the
condition of being human. After years of studying male bonding and
intergenerational relationships (starting back in the '70's with Kirk
and Spock from Star Trek), honestly, there's precious little that
makes us different.
Do some research if you feel uneasy about how to handle writing a
man's perspective. Read stories or novels that center on men
interacting that touches on emotions and expression. Another source
is men's magazines, where issues are addressed. Films and television
shows that explore men and their feelings abound. I just finished
watching the latest episode of a BBC drama called "Take Me," which is
what reminded me I'd forgotten to touch on this subject. In the end,
after years of denying himself any intimacy with his father, the lead
character finally accepts how much he loves his father... how much
the man means to him... and finally reaches out and just holds him
close, eventually listening in his head to the music you get the
impression his father always listened to and slow-dancing with him on
the sidewalk. It was so beautiful, so real, and so human.
I've always been touched at the stories of Hijikata being a demon
publically and, privately, alone at night, crying. My sense is that
Saitou was the same way. I can understand that... can relate to it.
Both expressions are a survival tactic... a way of staying sane... of
remaining in control. By the same token, look at the raging emotions
and fits of crying in samurai movies that ignite at the first sign of
distress. Men, women... it's all the same. Some are stoic, some are
overly emotional. I wouldn't worry whether or not you're trying to
think in terms of a character being "a man," but in terms of that
character's personality... are you staying true to *that* as opposed
to gender.
And if this doesn't touch at all what you were getting at,
sorry... :-D I easily misunderstand intent behind broad questions
(no pun intended).
phil (who doesn't think she knows how to write about women after 30
years of writing about men, though admittedly, slash/yaoi opens whole
new cans of worms...)
P.S. Try reading some Yukio Mishima. He does a lot of delving into
men's psyches... sometimes to the point I want to scream "just get on
with the story!" (Thinking of "Confessions of a Mask" and "Forbidden
Colors," which I'm currently reading, but psychological exploration
seems to be one of his hallmarks in all his fiction... and he's
writing from a Japanese perspective, though again, it's actually
universal.)
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