h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As usual, you have made me think
In my writing group there were about 12 women and 2 men. One of the men complained that all the women wrote about bad men. Was that true and if so why?
I don't think any of the women believe that all men are brutes. To some extent the women were writing about heroines who needed to get out and assert their individuality. The obvious way to do that was to pitch them against men who were brutal or useless.
Perhaps if you have a hero, you take it for granted that he can assert his individuality. You can then pitch him against society, against other men or against women.
Except that some stories feature heroes who are boys (Dickens is good at this) or physically or mentally disabled (like the hero of 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night)
But the worst thing a writer can do is to make his/her characters stereotypes. So a woman writer might be able to get away with making one male character a brute. But she must make other male characters caring, full of self-doubt, patient to a fault or whatever.
(Note to self-my next story must feature a good hero)

.

Good point, as always.

If you make a supporting character do something just to give the main character something to react against, I think you're sinning against the characterisation. Everybody needs to be motivated.

Besides, those other characters might surprise you.

The characters I've invented for 'Dreaming in Stone' have changed several times. They've acquired complexities, back stories, friends. But that's what makes this writing process so interesting - it's a journey of discovery. I shall end up somewhere quite different from the place I imagined when I started!

That is . And, I think, as it should be.