He said, She said…

The article linked to the right concerns a study done on African-American males and females – an interesting read. The study cited delves into some deeper points and some particulars beyond the terms I’m thinking in. However, I liked the image and figured it was interesting enough to point out.

I’d like to focus more on the male/female differences that seem to crop up and become problematic in our relationships with members of the opposite sex. I’ve been thinking a lot about how these differences might manifest and be shown through dialogue. It’s certainly an opportunity to create some friction between those poor unsuspecting characters too!

I’ve been reading Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus by John Gray, not because DH and I have been having issues communicating, but more to gain some insights on how people with those types of issues act and talk. I like to think DH isn’t your stereotypical male, so basing romance heroes on how he would react or even speak seems counterintuitive (No offense, sweetie!). I can only imagine what he thought the first time he saw me reading that book.

Anyway, despite the hokey Martian/Venusian metaphor, Gray’s descriptions of how men and women react and communicate differently make sense. I’ve already gotten a couple of ideas on how to better portray a couple characters from it. The idea of men retreating to their cave is so prevalent in the Regency-set historical romance novels I read. How many times has the hero retreated to his study?

Like in Vogler‘s Writer’s Journey, I’m coming up against ideas that I’ve intuitively known. Once again I’m being forced to re-examine and re-evaluate how I view the world and how I can turn that to an advantage in my writing.