Usually I try to 'write what I know,' but every now and then I find a story demands a more feminine point of view. I don't know how successful I am in capturing the perspective authentically, but I'll give it a shot from time to time. On the other hand I'm aware that it really takes you out of a story when a character says or does something you know that no guy (or woman) would ever say, do, or even think.
So, who does it best?
Which Lush authors are the best at taking the view point of the opposite gender? If you're a woman, which male authors do the best at writing plausible female characters? If you're a man, which female authors do the best at writing plasuible male characters?
Frank_Lee without a doubt writes the most vivid characters of either gender. His females might often be gritty and broken, with endless baggage, but they're always beautifully rendered.
On the flipside, browncoffee has it down when it comes to writing men, imo. She has this knack of getting inside his head and showing what he's thinking by mere actions. The flick of a gaze, the adjustment of a belt strap. It's amazing to read.
Please browse my digital bookshelf. In this collection, you can find 112 full stories, 10 micro-stories, and 2 poems with the following features:
* 29 Editor's Picks, 74 Recommended Reads. * 15 competition podium places, 10 other times in the top ten. * 21 collaborations. * A whole heap of often filthy, tense, hot sex.
Unknown User
I can't write opposite sex POV to save my life, I think it's tough. Darkside does slutty female POV extremely well. I'm very fond of Melissa https://www.lushstories.com/DarkSide
I've taken a couple of shots at it, as in "Greyhound Girl" and maybe one or two others, but I cheated - I asked a couple of female Lush friends to look it over as I wrote it to make sure it didn't look too much like some clueless old guy trying to write a young woman's POV. Nothing got published until I got their stamp of approval - and they did generously give me a few tips - but after that it seemed to be pretty well accepted.
This caught my eye as I’m trying to write a story at the moment. I’m writing it as a man who's trying to get me into bed. I always think of a quote from “As Good As It Gets” Receptionist: How do you write women so well? Melvin Udall: I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability.” I love that film. Regards, Verity
My first entry into Erotica, I wrote from a very male perspective (on a phone call) that was absolutely 100% myself.
I didn't like that I did it that way, ultimately (despite it being very successful).
As a follow up, I went full Kurosawa/ Rashoman. Same story, from 3 different perspectives (the 3 parties involved) and I thought it would tank without question. Nope. More successful than the prior thing. I sort of had a public personality of my own at that point so it's hard to factor in how that affected the scoring (at Literotica, way back in the day) but I think it's fair to accept that I could in fact write from any perspective I choose. I went on to write things that "couldn't possibly be written from a man's perspective," I was told. Which absolutely gave me a great and gigantic hardon, I should confirm. And I found all of that plenty liberating.
In fact. I use it to this day, 20 years since, to reason myself through my own issues. When I cannot get a grasp on something? I end up writing someone else in a better effort to perhaps understand what I cannot hear myself. And more often than not - there's an answer there.
So to answer the question?
I think it's a mistake not to try.
Serve the story. Not yourself. Find the voice that way.
PS That "Good As it Gets" quote is... not only monolithic and possibly accurate but rather - exactly the point ; )
I can write as either one. But that all depends on the story I am trying to tell.
There really is no firm rule in my writing, it mostly depends on the point of view I am trying to capture. I even had one where the POV character changed genders, and that was interesting because I had them first appear as male, and even describe scenes with an "old boyfriend", that left many confused as they were told from the female perspective by a male (at that time) narrator.
Years ago, I had an acting teacher that happened to be a lesbian. As an exercise in class one day, she suggested we all take on the characters that we'd like to be reincarnated as. While many of us struggled with the assignment, our teacher went on at length about how she wanted to come back as a drunken sailor with a huge cock and an appetite for men. Her bold suggestion has always stuck with me and I use it to motivate in the challenge of writing from a women's perspective. For me, if I didn't regularly take on the role of the opposite sex, I don't think I'd really be interested.
I’m a man but I sometimes like to write an erotic story as a woman. I write in the “Literotica” site more than here. The great advantage is that you can say what’s going on inside her head, which is sometimes even more erotic or kinky than the physical sex.
I personally don't feel qualified, lacking the life experience of a woman. I do try to view the world through others' eyes as much as I can in daily life, and don't believe myself to be a narcissist. But when it comes to something as intimate, emotional and subconsciously-driven as sexuality, I only feel able at this time to write from my own perspective. Maybe at some point, I will feel like I have sufficient perspective to write as someone other than a cis man, but I'm not there now.
But that's just me. I certainly do not have a problem with other people writing cross-gender. One of the best stories in the current Noir competition has a male author writing a female protagonist, and another of the best has a female author writing a man. Good on them, and well done.
I probably write 50/50 male and female protagonists. My first instinctive choice for a main character is usually a woman.
Tintinnabulation - first place (Free Spirit) Comet Q - second place (Quick and Risqué Sex) Amnesia - third place (Le Noir Erotique)
Unknown User
i'm currently in the process of writing my first story (at least, the first one that i'll submit to publish), and i've already struggled a bit with this issue. at the risk of sounding snarky about it, which i don't intend, here's the answer i've come up with, partly based on advice i've received and partly based on my own self-reflection:
write, above all else, what you want to write. make an effort to write authentic characters, scenarios, actions, etc., but if you're asking questions like this, chances are you're doing that already. once you're making an effort to make your work authentic, stop worrying and write for yourself. if it lands with readers, they'll let you know, and you'll feel validated. if it doesn't, they'll also let you know, but ultimately, while you will of course consider feedback and incorporate it into future works, you are who you are as a writer, so embrace it.
simply put: do your best. you don't require anyone else's validation.
Writing from the female perspective is something I enjoy. Like Ensorceled, I probably do it about half the time. Maybe a little less.
It took a while to get there (by reading a lot) and I'm still working on it. Sometimes I write an opposite gender piece and it clicks. Other times it doesn't quite meet the high expectations I have of myself. Usually, just when I think I've got it nailed, I'll read a piece by someone else on this site that makes mine seem like a grade school story, haha. So I'll use that to attempt to up my game.
As maverick80 says, don't bully yourself into thinking you can't do it. You can. I've read your work, joe71, and you sure as hell can write!
Please browse my digital bookshelf. In this collection, you can find 112 full stories, 10 micro-stories, and 2 poems with the following features:
* 29 Editor's Picks, 74 Recommended Reads. * 15 competition podium places, 10 other times in the top ten. * 21 collaborations. * A whole heap of often filthy, tense, hot sex.
I'm currently obsessed with writing from the male POV. 😊 It's funny, but I actually think my best stories are written with a male narrator. I'm not sure what that says about me... as I'm female. Ha!
I've only written one story from a woman's perspective and was in the 'love stories' category(yeah kinda cliche, right). Otherwise, I usually chicken out and write in 3rd person for women lead stories.
Not sure if I am brave enough to do it again. But seeing what Maverick and WW said, I may give it another try.
I've only written one piece with a male lead, but since there wasn't any definitive "he," several assumed it was a female and the rest were surprised it wasn't.
I think this is a topic that's prone to overthinking, so maverick80's advice is spot on: damn the torpedoes and tell the story you want to tell. For added comfort, you can always send it to a beta reader.
"It seemed like a nice neighborhood to have bad habits in.” Raymond Chandler
I'm currently obsessed with writing from the male POV. 😊 It's funny, but I actually think my best stories are written with a male narrator. I'm not sure what that says about me... as I'm female. Ha!
KBG, my experience with your writing tends to make me think whatever gender perspective you choose it would be both insightful and sensual. I think writing is not necessarily about one’s actual experience but what you imagine it might be like within the context of a story.
I'm currently obsessed with writing from the male POV. 😊 It's funny, but I actually think my best stories are written with a male narrator. I'm not sure what that says about me... as I'm female. Ha!
I think my best stories have female narrators. Weird but groovy. Maybe we're like doppelgangers, but opposite sex!?
Tintinnabulation - first place (Free Spirit) Comet Q - second place (Quick and Risqué Sex) Amnesia - third place (Le Noir Erotique)
KBG, my experience with your writing tends to make me think whatever gender perspective you choose it would be both insightful and sensual. I think writing is not necessarily about one’s actual experience but what you imagine it might be like within the context of a story.
Thank you, Icarus! I've always been a big people watcher, so maybe that helps me write different genders.
When writing as the female gender I take comfort there isn't one female gender perspective, there are multitudes. if I don't go bananas I think it can work out. 😇
I’ve written as both a Male and Female. My Males are usually seduced by women who know what they want and how to get it. My Females are powerful women who hold sway over their men. I’ve been asked to write a sequel to my story about a wife who hires herself out as an escort.
Female reader here. Am into stories that either exploit or challenge the female psyche - and perhaps you can create subtly different ones based on the characters' lived experiences, cultural setting, etc. But even if a male author were to paint a stupendously horny female character for the sake of arousing himself, don't think it could go far wrong - we all like pleasing our partners at the end of the day.
Here's a good starting point for writing from the different perspectives, as far as erotica goes: Women need a reason to have sex; men just need a place.
To write a believable woman, regardless of sexuality, simply go one layer deeper into the psyche and show us "why" she's doing what she is. Then, tie in her thoughts and feelings as most women are the complete package, not just what flickers on the porn screen.
"Krystal was so horny that she fingered herself," simply doesn't evoke anything beyond the visual aspect of the aforementioned, slutty redhead finger-banging herself. To make it "womanly," dive a little deeper and add in her heart, mind, and soul from her perspective. "Seeing him standing there, those taut muscles rippling in the sun, his brilliant smile piercing her soul, Krystal became so possessed by the dirty, lust-riddled thoughts coursing through her mind that her hand wandered between her heated thighs, her fingers stroking her engorged clit exactly the way she wished he would."
To write men well, one only needs to know their inner drive, the root mote of their personality, and the fact that, for the most part, it is the acts of sex and enticement that get their motors revving. "Jeff's fingers worked their magic up and down her thighs; the sight of her writhing in ecstatic bliss set his passion alight, his cock rising as high as the fires burning in his soul."
My two cents.
Am I a good witch, or a bad witch? History will decide
Here's a good starting point for writing from the different perspectives, as far as erotica goes: Women need a reason to have sex; men just need a place.
To write a believable woman, regardless of sexuality, simply go one layer deeper into the psyche and show us "why" she's doing what she is. Then, tie in her thoughts and feelings as most women are the complete package, not just what flickers on the porn screen.
"Krystal was so horny that she fingered herself," simply doesn't evoke anything beyond the visual aspect of the aforementioned, slutty redhead finger-banging herself. To make it "womanly," dive a little deeper and add in her heart, mind, and soul from her perspective. "Seeing him standing there, those taut muscles rippling in the sun, his brilliant smile piercing her soul, Krystal became so possessed by the dirty, lust-riddled thoughts coursing through her mind that her hand wandered between her heated thighs, her fingers stroking her engorged clit exactly the way she wished he would."
To write men well, one only needs to know their inner drive, the root mote of their personality, and the fact that, for the most part, it is the acts of sex and enticement that get their motors revving. "Jeff's fingers worked their magic up and down her thighs; the sight of her writhing in ecstatic bliss set his passion alight, his cock rising as high as the fires burning in his soul."
My two cents.
Oh, this is so true. I try to relay the reasoning, it is that and all my senses coming together. For me, it is what goes on in my mind, then the body. I do find it very difficult to write from a male perspective, my husband has to help.
This is my collection of muses and stories. Stories of note include:
Little Bird - A true story of submission and dominance set in Paris between an older couple and their younger lover.
Le Weekend - Six lives intertwined during one weekend create events that change their lives forever.
Unknown User
Obviously some think men are shallow pools of hormonal driven urges with no other thoughts but to rut with whatever comes their way. Well…my throbbing cock drives into your dripping cunt as I contemplate a double meat cheeseburger…mmmm this burger is really juicy….
Obviously some think men are shallow pools of hormonal driven urges with no other thoughts but to rut with whatever comes their way.
If you meant me, that was neither my intent nor what I intoned (at least, I thought so). I did mention the inner drive and root mote of personality. That was me attempting to sum up, for brevity, the stoic solidity of character and its depth that makes a man a man. To me, men, real men, are strength and determination, dedicated to their inner essence, unwavering, and their moral compass unyielding. that is what I meant.
Am I a good witch, or a bad witch? History will decide
Unknown User
Krystal, I think you are one of the most intriguing people on Lush. Insightful, intelligent and a tough Mod who gives exceptional guidance. Coming from a “shallow pool” I took no offense but if we could find a place I would surely attempt to add some some depth to my groping and grunting. I love you dearly just so you know.❤️
Krystal, I think you are one of the most intriguing people on Lush. Insightful, intelligent and a tough Mod who gives exceptional guidance. Coming from a “shallow pool” I took no offense but if we could find a place I would surely attempt to add some some depth to my groping and grunting. I love you dearly just so you know.❤️
I'm not really a tough mod. If the writer is trying and learning from the advice, I'll go way above and beyond to help them realize their true potential, as well as get their story published. When I began writing, the mods taught me more with their (constant) returns than myriad "how to write" books ever did, and I'm just trying to pay the potential they saw in me forward. I may, at times, come off a bit terse as a moderator, but that's more tonality from brevity than my actual mindset. In fact, I feel that the mods, as a whole, are very much like that.
Am I a good witch, or a bad witch? History will decide
