*GASP!* Busy? Noooo waaaaay....
Yeah. Way. Anyway... not really a good excuse, but it's the only one I have.
So, it just occurred to me that there is this really common thing on Planet Earth. It's called Gender Dimorphism. It means, that there are guys.....and there are gals..... and they are different from each other.*GASP!* I know, right?! So freaky! But it's totally true. And what's more is that the two opposites have great difficulty understanding each other.
Because of this phenomenon, I have noticed something that is a bit of a problem in the written world.
Since I like to visit gaming forums and Role Play, that is where I see a lot of very fresh writing from other people on a daily basis (most of it is very, very good writing, I might add), and this gives me a good chance to spot and analyze a lot of things about writing.
Firstly, when it comes to Role Plays, girls rule....litterally. I mean, a majority of role players are girls. Boys prefer playing Call of Duty® (which I don't blame them. It's a cool game!), because Role Playing is too much like....writing. So, very few boys actually Role Play.
So, as a result, the girls have to make boy characters to play. Not a problem. But here is what else happens: usually, the boy characters don't get "played" much, and when they do, they tend to be what I like to call "touchy-feely" and emotional. Why? Because it's girls playing them, and girls are critters of emotion. They don't get guys, who are very non-emotional critters.
Male characters should not be "touchy-feely", but female characters should be. However, many writers, even outside of the Role Playing world, have difficulty with this.
So I am here to help out. I am going give the basics on how boys and girls are hard-wired.
So girls, here we go: a crash course on guys.
Guys.....if any of you are reading this, any extra insight would be welcomed in the comments....that is, if its not too much writing for you. ;-P
Okay.
1. Guys are materialistic. Ever heard the saying "he who dies with the most toys wins"?? Yeah, guys take that seriously. Objects are not inanimate to them. They view pretty much everything as something that either must be obtained or conquered... like a football! Their materialistic-ness is what makes them ambitious, competitive, and even romantic. They will go to great lengths to obtain and keep the best "toys", weather it be the football, a new stereo, or a hot girl. When put to the test, you never know what boys will do to get the best.
2. Guys don't think with their emotions. Guys are analytic and are creatures of logic. When they think and strategize, they pick plan that involves less trouble for them, and then they just DO IT. They act on their protective and possessive instincts (or hormones, take your pick), and they are naturally lazy (sorry guys, but you are). It's like playing football: they have a basic strategy, no details - kill the other guys, get the darn ball to the other side of the field, and win! Once that's done, we go home and play Call of Duty...
3. Guys are all about power and respect, and I don't mean that in a bad way. Guys naturally want to feel 10 foot tall and bullet proof. The winning of the basketball game, the opening of the unconquerable pickle jar, the mastering of a song, the slaying of the dragon, saving the maiden fair, taking back the stolen treasure, being served hand and foot....these things and similar make a guy feel powerful and respected, the same way a guy's tender attention makes a girl feel loved.
All three of those points pretty much make a guy. That is why men are better warriors, better leaders, and altogether crazy.
Ready for a crash course on girls now? It's pretty easy: they are just the opposite of a guy.
1. Girls think using emotion, basing everything on how they or others feel. They are able to feel what others feel in a way that men cannot understand. This is what makes them the best mothers, the best nurses, and the best listeners.
2. Girls are verbal, whereas guys are visual. Girls like to talk about things. That is how they think, and that is how they help others: they talk, and they listen while others talk. This is often where guys and girls collide, because guys just don't talk about things like girls do, and it often makes girls mad.
3. Girls are all about love. Again, this goes back to the emotions. They crave gentle attention, affection, sympathy, a listening ear...you know. Their support system revolves around this sort of stuff.
So, quick recap:
Girls are emotional.... guys are physical. Girls are verbal....guys are visual.
Example: This is an excerpt from my book, the seventh chapter, just after the hero, Keegan, foils a kidnapping attempt. It is the best all-in-one example I can give from my book. Note the emotional responses of Erewhon (air-a-won), the woman, and the way Keegan reacts "unemotionally" to everything, his protective instincts kicking in on the very last sentence.
Erewhon was too
stunned to say anything. She was in awe over the horse and his owner, she was
surprised they had come to her rescue, and she was shocked that she now
recognized them. She had seen them before.
The young man turned
to her and bowed slightly “May I know your name, my lady?” He asked politely.
Erewhon opened her
mouth, but nothing came out. Everything had happened so fast. She didn’t know
what to say, she could barely even remember her own name right now, and she
felt like she was going to be sick. A hot tear come to her right eye and she
closed her mouth as harsh embarrassment washed over her, upsetting her stomach
all the more.
The young man sighed
then brought his horse up beside her “Allow me to help you onto Ardor and I
will take you to a stream to wash your face.” He said kindly. He took her by
the arm gently and brought her closer to his horse.
She grasped Ardor's
mane, raised her foot and placed it in the waiting man’s hand then swung up
onto the horse’s back. She looked down at the young man and their eyes met.
His eyes were a
shining blue that were gentle yet intense, deep and strong. There was pain
behind them, along with guilt and confusion, but most of all, they were filled
with the harsh look of revenge. In spite of that, kindness and compassion
swirled in them. There was another look to them as well: strange look.
Something deep in them, a deep, glorious secret.
The young man turned
his head away from her gaze and stroked the horse’s neck. He looked back up at
her, but endeavored to make no eye contact “Are you ready?” he asked.
She nodded her head
slightly, tightening her grip on the white mane and continuing to stare at the
fair young man.
He led his horse
through the trees quietly, talking to it and patting it, and occasionally
looking back at her for a brief moment. After a short time they came to a
stream where they stopped.
Erewhon washed her face in the cool, refreshing water, and she
cleaned the cuts and scrapes on her arms. She tried to clean some of the blood from
her dress, but the stains would not remove, so she walked to a tree on the
bank, and sat between its roots, holding her knees while waiting for the young
man to finish washing his face.
She could not believe
that her elder lady in waiting had been a traitor. The old woman had been so
kind and gentle when they had first met only a short time ago. Erewhon had
hoped that they would become good friends. But that would never happen. At
least now the woman wouldn’t be endangering anyone’s lives anymore, especially
Annaka’s life.
Erewhon shifted uncomfortably as she remembered the sight
she saw when she had looked into the wreckage of the carriage. Then she groaned
as her mind flicked back to the image of the knife sticking out of the back of
the evil man. Her head felt light at the memory, and her stomach started to
churn again.
Her rescuer came up
beside her, so she quickly stood and tried to push the gruesome memories out of
her mind while trying to regain some composure.
“You are not the
first person to have seen death.” The young man said abruptly.
Erewhon turned and
faced him, feeling offended “Excuse me?” She asked insolently.
“Forgive me.” The
young man said raising his hands “I only meant to comfort you. You looked slightly
sick.”
Erewhon rolled her
eyes and relaxed slightly “Well. Thank you for the attempted comfort.” She said
as politely as she could manage. She was feeling hot, and sick, and short on
patience and civility right know, so her temper had little room to be taxed by
a young man’s ignorance.
“The road is that way.” He said pointing in the direction he
spoke of.
He offered her a leg
up on the horse, but she shook her head and stepped away “I will walk from
here, thank you.” She said and began walking in the direction that he had
pointed out.
He shrugged and followed her silently as she walked toward
the road.
When they found the road, he pointed to the right and they
walked in that direction silently until Erewhon could no longer endure the
silence.
“You have not told me
your name.” She noted “May I know what it is?”
“My name is Keegan.”
He answered with a polite nod of his head.
“Keegan? No other
titles?” She asked.
“Just Keegan” He
replied with a shake of his head.
Erewhon cleared her
throat quietly and pushed back a strand of her hair that had fallen from the
circlet on her head “I am Erewhon. Princess Erewhon.” She corrected herself “My
uncle, King Orwin of Halfidail will reward you well for rescuing me.” If
nothing else would please the young man, this news would.
Keegan snorted “I don’t care for a reward.” he replied,
glancing at her before turning his eyes back to the road.
Erewhon looked at him
in shock “Pardon me?” She asked “You do not want a reward?”
“I did not rescue you
for a reward.” Keegan explained “Saving you from the danger at hand and seeing
you in good health is reward enough. Even if you were a serf, seamstress or a
milk maid, I would have rescued you.”
He suddenly stepped
in front of her, halting her walking, and he looked her over with an intense
stare. He studied her gold hair and her green eyes, though he tried not to make
much eye contact with her.
“I do know you! You
are the milk maid that lost the brown cow in the village, and I fetched it back
for you.” he said with a sparkle entering into his blue eyes “That was three
months ago. Much has change for you in that time.” He concluded with an ornery
smile spreading across his face.
Erewhon stared at him
a moment, wishing that he had not recognized her, then, with a huff, she walked
past him feeling awkward and foolish.
“Do you like being royalty?”
Keegan asked hurrying up beside her.
“Not particularly.”
She answered forwardly as she kept her eyes trained on the road ahead of her.
“May I ask why not?”
Keegan asked.
Erewhon let out a heavy sigh. She did not want to answer his
questions. If only he had not recognized her, everything would be fine. She
would not have had to answer all his questions then. But now it would be
impolite. Wouldn’t it? Or, did her status as royalty place her above his
questions? Strangely, as she thought about it, she found herself wanting to
answer his questions. She wanted to unburden her heart to him.
She sighed again “I
prefer the simple life of a peasant, unnoticed and left alone. Being royalty
causes many eyes to stare at me, and it creates many dangers. You just rescued
me from one. It is not just a threat to my safety and solitude, but to my
sister’s as well.” Erewhon slowed her pace slightly, staring at the ground
before her “If it were just I as princess, then I would not be so worried, but
my little sister’s involvement makes it difficult for me to rest at night. I
fear for her safety.” She finished slowly, her mind wandering to Annaka.
Keegan paused a
moment and seemed to become more somber as he reflected on her words “Who is
hunting you?” he asked with concern...
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