Can writers make the protagonists of their stories from the opposite sex and still give him/her credibility?

Question

as an individual..my English teacher doesn't think so and discourages me from writing from a male perspective although that should be creative?

Thanks to everybody.
I'm certainly gonna try.

Answer 1

Sure, happens all the time. Writers always need to get in touch with their feminine or masculine side. Everyone wants to be loved, understood, (Josh Groban) so the differences are minimal. Tack up the purpose of your story (postie) in 25 words or less where you can see it on your computer and use your life experiences with the opposite sex to remind you of how their mind works. Also, read this site: http://www.lovesedona.com/02.htm

Answer 2

I believe your English teacher is wrong. I've written several stories from the female protagonist's point of view, often writing it in the first person. It was a refreshing way of writing for me while it took a subtle approach to a different perspective in humanity.

As pointed out on this forum already, many accomplished writers do that which your English teacher believes to be wrong. So who is wrong?

Of those stories written from a feminine POV and given to editing females to read, they've all come back to me saying they were amazed that I could place myself within a woman's perspective and succeed.

I say go for it if you would like to write something from a male's point of view. Have male critics read your manuscript and offer their views.

Answer 3

I don't think your English teacher knows what they're talking about - or they just underestimate your writing abilities. The majority of my favorite books were written by writers who are the opposite gender of their main character. In a lot of ways, I think it works better that way, because you're not tempted to make the character just like you - or like what you want to be.

In a forum for creative writers that I post at, we had a three-page discussion and poll on the same topic that you might be interested in reading through. Here's a link: http://www.inkify.com/showthread.php?t=52

Answer 4

Of course you can write from the point of view of the opposite sex.

I wrote a story about a man in the park, smoking, pacing, cursing under his breath. He was impatiently waiting for his fiance to arrive so they could go to the court house to get married. It was all about how nervous he was, how he was worried that his fiance would be late or wouldn't show up at all. His feelings of nervousness was the main part of the short story.

It's pretty easy and it is creative.

Write something and then show your teacher.

Answer 5

Definitely. Many authors have done this already. Your English teacher is being narrow-minded and unsupportive. Stick to your guns and write what and how you want to write. After all your English teacher is an English teacher and not a WRITER.

Answer 6

Gustave Flaubert wrote Madame Bovary. Flannery O'Connor took up mostly men as characters and Larry McMurtry has written women up and down. So, that's a yes. Good writers can write dogs as ducks.

Answer 7

Sure you can do it. I have done it and it is very interesting for you when you are creating and reviewing. You will learn about yourself. If you are a good writer, you will write a story interesting regardless the sex of the protagonist vs yours.

Answer 8

Writers can and do.
I've read lots and lots of books where it has been done effectively, but I do think you have to be quite talented (Tolstoy, Anna Karenina; Townsend, Adrian Mole Diaries, etc). If you are still in school, you may not have the maturity/experience to pull it off, hence your teacher's advice.

Answer 9

Wow, I'm amazed your English teach holds that opinon, there are many great books, and many popular books, where that is done very well.

Try it, get some of your male buddies to read it for you to make sure your character is doing "guy stuff", then submit it to your teacher.

Answer 10

Just think about writers like Dostoevsky or Tolstoy and you'll see that the answer is sure.