How to write a male character?

[gingisep]

Maybe I'm making things seem more difficult than they actually have to be.

Possibly, I fear your small doubt has hit one of the most fuzzy thing around the place

Another available method is to take one (or two, even better) role models and shape your character in a similar way.

Its a mental exercise similar to "What would Thor Do?" presented in OOTS:

You must be registered to see the links

Then give it a personal twist so it gain originality, or pose different physical/backstory setup so the character has to elaborate a more suitable options along the tale.

 

[Tauro Thurius]

I've played hundreds of adult games and the games I enjoyed the most had MCs who were able to stand up for themselves, not loser wussies who act like they were born yesterday. Some of the games have such characters that you literally play as a socially inept incels. Those characters provide 0 ( zero ) plausibility as they are not fitting for an ADULT video game where you get to interract and have sex with many different women ( or men ).

Of course those characters should have negative traits, or as you said imperfections. One could be too quarrelsome, but still be quite protective towards those who he loves. Or some other character could suck when it comes to academic success, but could be very good at sports.

Regardless, you can also create a whole different character by staying out of niche. Your character could be a total bully with no feelings whatsoever with psychopathic/sociopathic tendencies. All I'm asking from you good folks is to stop making characters 18 year old virgins who have no idea how to speak or act. You could be 18 and be a fucking badass and those characters are more interesting in my humble opinion.

 

[GreenGobbo]

Not sure if this will help you or not because I don't make games or whatever, but I do write short stories from time to time, and it should work for any character regardless of gender.

Outline/write down everything about who you want them to be at the start.
Then start cataloging all the fine details. Approximate height, weight, build, age, job, car, hair color style and length, eye color, housing situation, personal history, relationships, hopes, dreams, asperations, etc. Even if only some of those things make it into your game/story it's good practice to really know and write down everything about your characters as reference material so you can look back at some point and be reminded of little things their birthdays or location of a scar/tattoo.
Then toss in some personality quicks, odd habits, anything that kinda sticks out a little, but is still close enough to normal that it's not weird.
Think about real people you know as inspiration for various traits.
Most folks aren't that clumsy, but we all know someone who trips or bumps into stuff contantly.
Or what about folks who fidget a lot? Those people who mindlessly just keep click click clicking all day with a pen while they concentrate on their work, or finger drum random songs all the time, stuff like that.
Maybe they live with their head in the clouds always daydreaming and are never fully attwntive to anything unless rushed or snapped back to reality.
Maybe they reallt hyper or lethargic?
A professional napper?
Total dog/cat enthusiast?
What about folks who talk incessantly. Yammering on and on for hours without actually saying anything at all. Or maybe a water cooler bro that's always gossiping anout everyone in the office? Or the sports nut who maybe played a little back in high school, but now all he talks about is how great/terrible the local teams are?
These aren't exactly normal behaviors everyone does so they stick out from the crowd enough to catch your attention, but they're still so commonplace that your readers will instantly see it and understand "Oh, he's kinda like that dude from accounting!"

And once you have all these little bits hammered out, written down, and filed away it should be easy enough to let them all mold together and form the personality and behavioral patterns of you characters. Then you can use it as a roadmap in the future to make sure they're always acting accordingly in any given situation.

Like I said before, may it or may mot help you, but it's pretty much how I build characters whenever I get the urge to do a little writing.

 

[Jaike]

Pretty sure this was already

You must be registered to see the links

.

Some men are like that and some women are also like that. But not all.

Saw that there was a

You must be registered to see the links

in response to that study. I can't tell who's right, but maybe someone else here can make sense of that stuff.

 

[Meaning Less]

Saw that there was a

You must be registered to see the links

in response to that study. I can't tell who's right, but maybe someone else here can make sense of that stuff.

Honestly this letter sounds like someone in denial.

One of the things the person is complaining about is that "inclusion of experiments assessing nonheterosexual subjects may add noise in sexual preference-encoding regions, further impairing sensitivity for true differences. " Sounds like they are fishing very hard.

And even then, the two 90s studies only mentioned a small difference. But as always media turns the smallest snowball into an avalance and people eat it as if it was "absolute truth".

So in this case regardless of whom is right they are still squabbling over pebbles. The only thing we know for certain is that those that believe the difference to be "massive or absolute" are just incorrect because no study ever claimed that to begin with.

 

[Robwood]

Just write a character and leave the gender/sex irrelevant. So long as he's not going on about his menstrual cycle and you have the first thing he notices about a girl being her appearance, then you'll be fine.

 

[Deleted member 229118]

From my point of view the best way to get the male mindset is to obey these 3 laws that have been expected of men from the moment humanity spawned:

1: A men can want everything but never need it.
A big part of the male culture is that we are expected to be strong, trustworthy, reliable.
A man wants you to be his.
He wants that new car.
He wants that job.
But he doesnt need it.
He wants you, He doesnt need you.
Plenty of different woman.
He wants that car but he doesnt need it.
He can drive anything.
He wants to get that job but he doesnt need that job.
Plenty of different jobs.


2: Responsibility.
A curse word today i know but men are raised that they need to protect there sisters, Protect the female, Protect eachother.
There is a reason even criminals hate sex offenders.
It is bashed into us from birth that we are to act responsble.


3: Men have emotions but arent ruled by them.
A guy can hate your guts and still act all friendly.
He can love you and reject you.
He can work boring jobs day in and day out just because he has too.
Men feel just like woman do but it doesnt control them.
More considered an anoyance then anything else.
It is also why we do not understand the womans need to complain about things instead of fixing them.
Complaining doesnt fix things.
Action does.

Men are expected to be creatures of action, of drive and motivation.
A man regardless of what type will only be consider a man and not a sissy when he is confident.
And most man arent as confident as they wish.

To be a man is to be a creature of action, of responiblity and duty.
To be a monster is to molest, to steal, to take what you havent earned.

As a side note:
The quickest way to get a man to stop hitting on you is saying you have a boyfriend.
The reason for this is that men do not persue other people's woman.
Jerks do, Monsters do, Assholes do.
And 90% of the mc are just evil monsters.
But even they are aware(but dont care) about what is expected of them.

And that is why a man can want everything but he can never need anything.
For to need is to admit weakness.
And that is something you only every do with people you trust.

 

[simarimas]

Write him as a woman, but then add in logic and reason.

(Sorry had to do the reverse 'As Good as it Gets' Jack Nicholson line there.)

Seriously. Men past their 20's usually hide their emotions, as showing emotion isn't manly. Sad but true. Also, showing emotions leads to discussion, and we don't want that. We want to come home from work, grab a beer, have dinner, and not think. We like sports, or games, or tv shows, as we can do those without thinking, just relaxing.

Also, every woman we see is judged on how hot she is. After that, we worry about personality. But first reaction is always on looks, be it face or body, or both.

A heterosexual man also gets the job, the car, the clothes, for one reason. To get women. At least in the teens and 20's. After that it starts to change a little bit

 

[Meaning Less]

A heterosexual man also gets the job, the car, the clothes, for one reason. To get women.

Are you implying that homosexual men don't work?
Or than homosexual women have to do those things if they also want to attract pussy?

And if that is the only reason, do they stop working after they get the woman?

Honestly this makes no sense, lots of baseless assumptions. I would have to completely remove the logical part of my brain to make sense of this, which is funny because you claimed "add logic and reason to it" but you forgot to use those things.

 

[simarimas]

Are you implying that homosexual men don't work?
Or than homosexual woman have to do those things if they want to get women?

Honestly this makes no sense, lots of baseless assumptions, I would have to completely remove the logical part of my brain to make sense of this which is funny because you claimed "add logic and reason to it" but you forgot to use those things.

I was implying no such thing. I am not a homosexual woman, or a homosexual man, so I won't comment on their reasons for what they do. I was simply stating what heterosexual men do and why, as that is what I know of how I was at that age.

As for the logic and reason part, that was simply a joke, based on the movie As Good As It Gets. Jack Nicholson is asked how he writes women so well. He states, he thinks of a man, then removes logic and reason. It was a JOKE.

 

[Meaning Less]

that is what I know of how I was at that age.

I think that was only you bro, most people know that those things are unrelated.

 

[simarimas]

I think that was only you bro, most people know that those things are unrelated.

Everyone I knew back then was the same, and the ones of that age that I know now are the same. They do everything they do to try to get women. The OP asked how to write a man, just a regular guy. And, as I said, as one gets older, the reasons for having the job, car, etc changes. But early on, it is to try to impress women. At least in the US

 

[junkanon]

I'm creating a game (with a male protagonist of course) but I find myself stuck sometimes. I feel as if he's not "manly" enough. And I don't mean manly as in some sigma male gigachad, I mean manly, as in a man. Obviously if I were a guy I wouldn't have this issue, but I'm not a guy

So, how do men typically act? Are they self-centered narcissists? Are they closeted gays? Are they neckbeard gamers? The nice guys that finish last? Or... a sigma male gigachad? There are many types of men but I don't want to make the MC's dialogue seem like "This was obviously written by a woman >.>" and actually make an MC that people can relate to. How?

In my opinion, male characters are often defined by their responsibility. Do they do their best to shoulder this burden or do they purposefuly avoid them? This is usually the root of the character.

In LOTR, every character was trying to fulfill their duty. Some to honor their ancestors (Aragorn), some because they thought they were chosen (Frodo), some to save their home and people (Boromir, Faramir, Éomer).

When King Theoden was magically forced to forget his responsibilities, he became a liability. When Saruman left his responsibility to lead the Wizards to steal power for himself, he became a villain.

In Marvel movies: When Tony Stark tried to make someone else shoulder his burdens (Ultron), he created the villain. Loki is the villain because he runs from his assigned role. Thor is a hero because he tries his hardest to fulfill his role. When he ultimately fails, he gets lost in self indulgency, junk food and videogames.

Female lead plots are usually about self discovery, leading them to find out they're strong in their own right. Male lead plots are usually about stop running around and taking the responsibility assigned to them by someone: gods, religion, family, or themselves.

 

[junkanon]

Of course, I'm talking about characters and common literature plots, not people. People are much more complex than fictional characters.

 

[Meaning Less]

But early on, it is to try to impress women. At least in the US

But have you ever met a woman that was impressed by those things?

I can see how dumb teenagers might create excuses as to why they don't have a girlfriend yet, but doesn't mean they are correct, in fact usually the moment they actually talk with any woman they tend to figure out that they were wrong.

 

[simarimas]

But have you ever met a woman that was impressed by those things?

I can see how dumb teenagers might create excuses as to why they don't have a girlfriend yet, but doesn't mean they are correct, in fact usually the moment they actually talk with any woman they tend to figure out that they were wrong.

More women than I can count. Are you telling me that Anna Nicole Smith married that old ass guy for who he was? Or for his money and power? Not saying all women are like that. But you have to admit, there are a lot of them who go for the chad with the nice car, even if he is a total dickhead. Women can be just as shallow as men.

 

[Meaning Less]

Are you telling me that Anna Nicole Smith married that old ass guy for who he was?

Well, who knows? maybe he was a cool guy and you are the one judging him for his assets. But I guarantee you it is never as simple as just "he has the car, or job". Who knows maybe she had a kink for old?

Sometimes I see similar judgement from men dating overweight/older women. Sometimes people completely ignore that not everyone has their tastes and tastes can be quite complex, some guys prefer them fat, the number of variables that goes into consideration is probably massive.

 

[simarimas]

Well, who knows? maybe he was a cool guy and you are the one judging him for his assets. But I guarantee you it is never as simple as just "he has the car, or job". maybe she was into old?

Sometimes I see similar judgement from men dating overweight/older women. Sometimes people completely ignore that not everyone has their tastes, some guys like them fat, the number of variables that goes into consideration is probably massive.

I completely agree with you about tastes. I am just saying, there are women, and men, who are attracted to others for very shallow reasons. Not saying they always stay with them, but they definitely date, and have sex, with them for those shallow reasons. Happens all the time. And in the early years of dating and sex, teens and 20's, guys will try anything, and everything, to stand out from the crowd and get noticed. And some guys during that time frame are looking for sex, more than a relationship. I imagine some girls also.

 

[Meaning Less]

And in the early years of dating and sex, teens and 20's, guys will try anything, and everything, to stand out from the crowd and get noticed.

Sex is complex and people actually are attracted to many subconscious elements that they might not even be aware of.

For instance someone that has a desire of being dominated will subcontiously select for dominating partners and vice versa.

The error comes when people assume doing X results in sex, because then you end up doing the opposite of what you should be doing to find compatible people. I always find it ironic when people go out of their ways to pick someone using X, but then go on to complain that the people they are dating only care about X.

That's why they always say "just be yourself", this way the people interested will find you.

 

[simarimas]

Sex is complex and people actually are attracted to many subconscious elements that they might not even be aware of.

For instance someone that has a desire of being dominated will subcontiously select for dominating partners and vice versa.

The error comes when people assume doing X results in sex, because then you end up doing the opposite of what you should be doing to find compatible people. I always find it ironic when people go out of their ways to pick someone using X, but then go on to complain that the people they are dating only care about X.

Yep, completely agree. I once dated a girl who wanted me to like her friends, and hang out with them. So whenever I would go pick her up, if her friends were in the lobby with nothing to do on a Friday night, I would ask if they wanted to go hang out. I would take them all out for dinner, drinks and go dancing. She ended up breaking up with me, because she said we were more like friends than boyfriend/girlfriend. Oh well, what can you do?