WRITING THE MALE POV, PART 1

We had an interesting discussion about male POV (point of view) on the American Christian Fiction Writers loop. http://www.americanchristianfictionwriters.com. As we write, we need to make our writing ring true. Here's a portion of our discussion, which I'm using with permission.

This from Debra:
I'm not quite sure I'll ask this right so bare (sic) with me...I read a story where the male was looking at the heroine (female lead character) and how she was dressed. From his POV, it was in detail. I thought to myself, Would he really think that? So, my question is, When you are in a male POV, and he is looking at the heroine and seeing how she is dressed, are we supposed to write what type of clothing she's wearing? What I mean is...my husband wouldn't look at a female and think, That's a nice pink paisley cotton dress she's wearing. However, he might think, She looks good in that pink dress with the funny squiggly things on it. Or, more realistically, She looks nice in that pink dress.

So, when we are in the male POV, do we go ahead and write things like, She looked great in her pink paisley cotton dress. Would that be believable? Or do we really go inside the guy's head and write something like, Her pink dress hung slightly below her knees, showing off shapely calves. Or would this be one of those things that you have to know your male character and what he would or would not notice? I realize some men would recognize a paisley pattern. But I'm betting most do not. And would a guy think cashmere sweater? Or instead, pink fuzzy-looking sweater. Levi blue jeans? Or dark blue jeans? Pink paisley dress? Or pink dress. We're always told to make it believable, and we want to give our readers a visual of what our characters are wearing at certain times.

Kristy: Wouldn't you know, Randy Ingermanson, A Real Guy and resident Male POV Authority at ACFW (SMILE), gave us a good answer. Randy Ingermanson, publisher of Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com and http://www.rsingermanson.com, had this to say. Randy has a great sense of humor. Chuckle along with me:

Deb: I'm not quite sure I'll ask this right so bare with me...

Randy: OK, I'm baring right now…Done! Totally bare!

Deb: …or, more realistically, would my husband would think, She looks nice in that pink dress?

Randy: Bingo!

Deb: So, when we are in the male POV, do we go ahead and write things like, She looked great in her pink paisley cotton dress. Would that be believable?

Randy: Never, never, never! What is paisley? A vegetable, right?

Deb: Or do we really go inside the guy's head and write something like, Her pink dress hung slightly below her knees, showing off shapely calves.

Randy: Guys do not call calves "shapely." Depending on the guy (and the calf), he might call it "sexy," "buff, "skinny," "warty", or "cone-shaped." But never "shapely." That's a girl word. Guys don't use girl words.

Deb: Or would this be one of those things that you have to know your male character and what he would or would not notice? I realize some men would recognize a paisley pattern.

Randy: I have no idea whether paisley is a pattern, a color, or a food. Or all three.

Deb: But I'm betting, most do not.

Randy: You're right. 80% of all guys would not.

Deb: And would a guy think, Cashmere sweater?

Randy: Cashmere is OK. Guys know cashmere. They are more likely to be interested in what the cashmere covers, but that's another story. Guys don't care whether the sweater is made of cashmere or paisley, as long as it fits snugly.

Deb: Or instead, pink fuzzy-looking sweater? Levi blue jeans?

Randy: Guys wear Levis. Guys will easily spot girls wearing Levis and will be more interested in what lies beneath the surface of the Levis than in the Levis themselves. (Guys are like that--they are not interested in mere surface appearance, unless it is chrome or leather.) Guys do not waste extra words such as "blue jeans" when all Levis of any Guy-value are blue and jeanlike. This guy is wearing Levis right now. They are blue. They are jeanlike. They have holes. The holes are in the back and are no bigger than the average python, so it does not matter. Guys do not care about holes in clothes. This guy has a favorite black shirt with a hole in the back of the neck roughly the size of a squirrel. This guy's evil wife wants to throw this shirt away FOR NO GOOD REASON! Any Real Guy will wear something until the holes are the size of a giraffe. Then he will ask his wife to fix it. Signed, A Real Guy

More to follow on writing male POV…