Male vs. Female

Whenever I get stuck with my writing, I go back and reread some of the things I have written and left unfinished. My reactions are usually the same–either “Bleh…” or “Did I really write this?” but this time, as I struggle to write chapter two of The Hunt and of Patterns in the Ivy (I don’t know what it is about chapter 2s!), I looked back and found myself thinking something different.

Apparently, I lean toward writing male characters. Even in my outlining notes, the backgrounds for my males are complex and long. My females’ backgrounds are only touched on. Hmm… I’ve never noticed that before. Maybe it’s because, even while reading, I am very critical of female characters. There are very few females I like, but I have a list full of favorite male characters. Maybe it’s because I like exploring the emotional complexity of the male gender–since boys generally don’t like to express their feelings. It is like an interesting adventure to me.

So after discovering this, it made me wonder… do you prefer writing female or male characters? Why?

~H.A.B.