I came across a Nano forum thread where a female writer was lamenting how she can only write male characters and not female characters. Some others complained that they can only write female archetypes. Yet others pointed out books where the male viewpoint dominates the narrative and women are rendered as caricatures.
What I don't get is why all these people are hung up on gender portrayal. I like character driven plots as much as the next person, but I don't read a story because the main character is a man or a woman. I continue reading because the author has successfully written about a person. And that's what I try to aim for in my writing--to write a person, not a mere male or a mere female.
And if people complain about too few realistic women in literature, why don't they write their own book with such a character?
Looking back at my previous Nano novels, I don't write exclusively male or female characters. It's probably more of an even mix. And any of the weirdness any of my characters exhibit is not due to their gender. As for this year's work--I'm thinking I have more male characters. But this has to deal with the setting (Victorian era) and my main character's occupation which at the time was primarily male-dominated.
