My Protagonistic Views

Yesterday I read a question that someone had asked a published author.  It was: Why are so many books written from the point of view of a female?  They were implying that most books tend to have a female protagonist.

The author replied by telling them some statistics that showed that, in fact, most books were actually written from a male perspective.  For years, in fact, female protagonists were quite rare when it came to published works.

To be honest, my favourite books tend to have female protagonists.  That's not to say that I won't read anything else.  I enjoyed many books that had male perspectives.  Not the least of which was Lord of the Flies. I read it during school, and I loved it.

Since high school, though, I've found myself gravitating more towards the female perspective.  Why?  I have a theory.  Because I am female.  Therefore, I find it easier to relate to the female characters and understand their motivations.  This doesn't keep me from reading the male perspective.  I've read the Harry Potter series, and I thoroughly enjoy Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, along with the rest of his books.  Most are from the male perspective.

Each person has their own preferences when it comes to reading, just as anything else in the world.

As a writer, I think that each of us tends to gravitate more toward what we like to read.  I, for instance, prefer female protagonists, so that's what I use when I'm writing.  When the characters introduce themselves to me, it's always the females that are more prominent and demanding.  They want to be heard, and they usually drag some male characters along with them.

That doesn't mean that I'm never going to write from the male perspective, though.  I have a couple characters that are wanting their point of view to come out.  Neither of them are my protagonist, but they're there and insistent

I do want to write a book from a male perspective.  There's just one little problem.  You see, it's hard to write something that you don't know.  I know that I don't know the male perspective.  I tried to write a middle grade during nano that was from the perspective of a ten year old boy.  It didn't go very well.

But I'm not going to give up!  Maybe not this year (just because I have so much going on this year already, and adding another book would only earn me a sigh from my boyfriend as he shook his head and reminded me that he would like to see me at some point) but eventually I will find a story idea that I want to write from the male perspective.

While I'm writing it, I'll probably pick the minds of all the men I know, trying to make sure that it's as accurate as possible.

But until then, I will be sticking with the female perspective.

What do you like to read?  What do you like to write?  Have you ever tried to write from the other perspective before?