There’s a stereotype among writers when it comes to gender. Female writers should write for women and only create strong female characters. male writers should write for men and only create male characters. Bullocks. The problem with this, is it’s sexist. When it comes to writing and creating great characters, gender makes no difference. If you’re a female writer and you believe you can get into the mind of a male character and make him believable, I say go for it. Male writers who aren’t afraid to get in touch with their feminine side shouldn’t feel too intimidated to create a female character.

Good writing is good writing, no matter the gender of the writer. I believe any writer can write from the point of view of a gender they may not necessarily identify with. If the writer is truly working to create a strong character their readers can identify with, and not some clichéd stereotype, it should work. With that, I offer this small piece of advice:

Male writers: don’t overuse the “damsel in distress” female character. We’ve been down that road TOO MANY TIMES.

Female writers: all of your male characters don’t need to be “macho”. The “dude who’s always looking for a fight” has been done TO DEATH.

In order to write a believable character, as a writer you need to be able to get into the mind of the character. Everything needs to be authentic. Start by putting yourself in your character’s shoes. If your character is a teenager in the modern world, try to think back to when you were a teenager. If you and your character are the same gender, you may find it easier to relate. If your character is of a different gender, here’s your opportunity to use the power of empathy.

I’ve written from the point of view of both male and female characters. Which one is easier? To me, it doesn’t make a difference. Most of the time when I create a character, I’m not focusing on their gender; I focus more on personality traits and goals. This doesn’t mean gender isn’t a factor because it is, but it’s not as important to me. In Valentine , Val’s need to protect the people she cares about isn’t a male or female struggle, it’s a human one. In I Probably Should Have Kept That To Myself, Aidan’s feelings of isolation from his family aren’t related to his gender. His feelings stem from his experiences.

Publisher’s Weekly has a great article about this very subject you may want to read, and you can find it here.