Male or female characters?

[Makachop^^128]

I realized recently that I have never written a story with a female as the main character, somehow when I try I find it really hard....or I just always think of story ideas with Males as the main character.Does anyone else have that problem? What kind of characters are normally your main characters?

[mechana2015]

I actually tend to write female protagonists. I've rarely written male main characters, and never in a long form story.

[QtheQreater]

I definitely lean towards writing stories with male main characters. I've actually spent some time thinking about why the heck this is, and in my case I think it's just because I find guys funnier to write about (I like writing comedy).

If I ever had to write a story with a female main character, I'm afraid it would be too serious, and it might touch on too many issues close to home. Which, I suppose, means I should write one someday...

[Makachop^^128]

Yea I find it hard to make a female character funny without giving her a sassy or flirtatious feel. Not sure why. Maybe I write more with male characters because I am surrounded by men haha. I'm the only girl out of the siblings, and even my mom is very tom boyish.

[Zeldafan2]

I'll write female characters, but I stick to having a male lead character. (I'm not the best at writing a female character.) Sometimes, I can write an in depth female character, but I easily fall into stereotypes which is one of my biggest flaws as a writer.

[FllMtl Novelist]

I typically focus on a heroine. There's usually an extremely important guy that brings his own conflict, perception, skills, and history to the story--and he'll be about as well-developed as she is--but in my mind the heroine is what I hang everything else on. I think the two appear more as co-protagonists to the reader, though.

I'm not sure why I do it that way. It's pretty weird, actually, since my favorite characters in books are often guys. I do make a point of working as hard on my male characters as my female ones, but maybe I'm more comfortable centering things on a female character, since I'm a woman? I have no idea, honestly.


People's reasons and methods for writing men vs. writing women are pretty fascinating, though. I know for a long time about 80-90% of my casts were female because I couldn't write a guy worth crap. Now the male/female ratio is pretty even (like 40/60 at the most lopsided) because I enjoy, value, and have gotten better at writing both, and I'd like more strong females in fiction I guess.

[Lynna]

My main characters tend to be female. I don't know why, I just tend to find them more interesting and easier to develop, and maybe I connect with them better. When I wrote books when I was younger, I only had a very small percentage of male characters, and they were barely important to the story. It was pretty much the exact reverse of the Never a Self-Made Woman trope. Of course, I eventually came to realize that this could be rather odd, and a tiny bit too easy. I then tried writing more guys, even if it was harder and I was bad at it. I am getting better, and am trying I try to make my casts a lot more equal in gender number, even though my main book still had three main girls and only two main guys, because I started writing it when I was twelve. I have a lot of fictional guys who I've liked, so I hope to be good at writing them eventually.

Interestingly enough, other than my Mom, I am the only girl in my family, and I have two brothers.

[Winry]

Typically my main POV character is female with an even mixture of male and female supporting/main characters otherwise. Not exactly sure why. I guess it's easier for me to relate to them and understand how they think? I have written stories with male protagonists in the past but just not recently.

[SierraLea]

Character varies a lot for me. I write my main character with the sex that would best fit the story, and the one I show the most conflict and fun with. All my fanfiction has girls for the main, though, since it's my way of putting myself in the story. It also helps that I'm pretty middle ground in my feelings, having a lot of traits from both sexes in my own personality.

[Ante Bellum]

Sexless characters.

[Makachop^^128]

Wow sounds like most of the girls here write with mostly females...I feel very strange XD but I wont stress about it haha.
Ishould write with a female character as a challenge, most of my stories barely have any women at all in them other then maybe the wife of the main character or something like that.

[Kaori]

I have a very even mix of male and female leads. When it comes to minor characters, I seem to have slightly more males, however, and it seems so far I have also only used male narrators when I write in first person (which is much less often than I write in third person).

[A_Yellow_Dress]

Typically, anything I write as a first person narrative is female. I find male characters harder to write from this perspective. :/ Which is weird because I usually have a lot more minor males then females. I guess I've never really thought about it before. If it's poetry, my characters tend to be genderless.

[samurai10]

I have honestly never written anything with a male main character.

It's not hard to see why. I have two sisters, no brothers, two nieces, and I never hang out with boys. So, for me, it's a lot harder to write something from a guy's perspective than it is to write from a girl's perspective. It's just that I only have one guy friend, so... yeah...

I need a social life. XD

[SierraLea]

Wow sounds like most of the girls here write with mostly females...I feel very strange XD but I wont stress about it haha.
Ishould write with a female character as a challenge, most of my stories barely have any women at all in them other then maybe the wife of the main character or something like that.

Cool! Most hit book series have either a boy or a mix of sexes for their main characters. Take a look at Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Raising Dragons, and Narnia. Those are just a few.

[DangoDaikazoku]

I feel more comfortable working with male protaganists. The handful of times I have used a female lead was only because I made myself the lead. XD Even then, the girl ends up being a wild child. I believe that working with guys is more fun for me because I like developing my "ideal guy," and putting him in ridiculous situations. But also, the majority of books that I've enjoyed had male protags. Though, I'm not sure either my male or female characters are believable in the least. ^_^;

[Cheetah]

My main character used to always be a girl. When I finally got creative enough to try developing a male protaganist I discovered that I liked it just as much. Since my stories are all action I prefer to have a guy as the main character, but I can't write a story without putting myself in it, even if she's just a character that pops in once or twice. Can't remember what that's called, but that character is always my most developed. I can't say I think like a guy, but I believe I can create a male character and stay true to his masculinity. Character development is probably what comes easiest for me, while everything else involved in writing stumps me.

[AdriTan]

Hmm... I can go either way..... I don't know.

[Red_web_city]

I think you should listen to your heart, if you feel inspired by the strong characteristics of the males in your family, then you can make your main character male.Just know that all men came from woman, and have an important role like Mary who raised Jesus. A good role model for young woman who heed their calling in life from God, and accept their destiny by not despising prophesy in the fear of the Lord.

[ClaecElric4God]

Don't feel strange, Makachop, or I'll have to, too. I personally can't make myself make a female main character. I find guys way more three-dimensional and easier to write. Still, I'm always nervous that I won't portray his personality right, because I have no idea what goes on in their heads. But yeah, I always prefer a guy as the main character. I don't know that I could have a female protaganist and take the story seriously, let alone make her a deep, well-developed character.