Do you know how difficult it is to think like a man? I’ve had quite a time of it this weekend! I’m working on a new book…well actually reviving one I wrote a few years ago. It’s too good to leave on the shelf of my desk. I hear it calling out to me. “Julie, Julie, remember me? Solve my problems.” I digress… So I’m writing it from the perspective of a guy. Unusual, huh? Considering I’m not one. And my boyfriend is of little help. He’s not the typical kind you’d find wandering in the pages of a book. In fact he’s somewhat of an original.
I’m a girl, right? I talk about things to my girlfriends. Evidently the only things guys talk about are sports, their jobs, and their cars. Don’t they ever talk about their relationships? To one another? No in fact. My boyfriend has enlightened me that when guys go out it’s to get away from all that stuff. (not him, of course:) But other guys. And they certainly don’t talk about problems, i.e. having to sleep in the spare room. Well who do they talk to then? I’m certain everyone needs someone to divulge to… to get help from? Are guys simply floating islands, never connecting with anyone… to get it off their chests? No wonder they die of heart attacks. They have a lot stuff stored up.
Is it a weakness, I asked? Will the other guys think the one having problems isn’t man enough? My boyfriend assures me it’s in the guy’s best interest not to mention such things and take care of it on their own. How horrible. Not that I go and spill all that’s going on with my personal relationship, but I do have one very close friend that I would. Silly me, I assumed everyone had someone.
It certainly doesn’t help the guy in my story. He’s more disturbed than I thought! Does that mean that a close girl/friend couldn’t be confided in about marriage problems? Hmmm… I’ll have to ask. It’s so weird tracking down the answers. And it’s kind of across the board, I’m finding. Like a universal language. Guys are definitely a different breed than girls. And writing from a guy’s head is going to prove my biggest challenge yet. I might need a couple of men on speed dial throughout this thing to ask questions!
Definitely a bit trickier writing from a guy’s perspective! I’m in the same boat, my husband is NO help on these things, let’s just say I’m the communicator in this relationship 😉 Like you say, having some guys on speed dial is good, as are some good beta readers!
I don’t guess it’s a big fear that a guy will read my book and argue I got it all wrong:) But I’ll try my best to get it right!
Just gotta give it a crack sometimes, and see how you go!
Guys are definitely a different breed 😉 I think they do confide, but in a different way us girls do. We just get straight to the point. Guys, well they procrastinate….they wait for their mates to pick up on their troubles. They wont talk about everything in detail like we do, but they do talk 🙂
– My Romance Addiction Blog
What I wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall during some of their “talks” to one another! I might fall asleep:) I doubt they go very deep!