In February 2009, I stepped away from writing for adults to try a young adult novel after attending a meeting where students, teachers and librarians discussed reluctant (insert young male) readers. The average male teen isn’t interested in books about kick-ass heroines who defeat the bad guys without assistance and score a date to the prom in the process. He doesn’t want to read about her relationship angst over problems with her mother, sister, best friend, etc., or about boys who act like wimps. Reaching guys requires books populated with realistic boys facing issues they relate to.

The teenage phenomena

At no time in our lives do we experience greater feelings of passion and power than during our teen years. Teens form and break social bonds almost daily, and yet make unbreakable, lifelong friendships. They think themselves superior to most adults although they secretly ache for validation from the grownups in their lives. They care how their peers perceive them and long to attract the attention of the opposite sex. They want to show-off their mastery of the world even as they struggle with self-doubt, raging hormones and self-esteem issues.

And that’s only the guys.

Boys and girls have more in common with each other than either has with adults of the same gender. But changing gender isn’t as simple as changing a name from “Jane” to “Jim” and using a few masculine pronouns. When my daughter started day care she came home and told me she was a boy—the creatures who ran around, shouted, climbed and built things while girls sat politely and played with dolls. I had to tell her that wishing would not make it so. Decades later I found myself using mind over matter to make myself a boy, at least temporarily.

Boys are NOT girls with a few anatomical differences

I studied my subjects like an anthropologist. Read books and talked to male friends and sought out social workers, teachers, and counselors; all to learn which of my pre-conceptions were real and which based on T.V. and Hollywood. Mostly I stalked teenaged boys. I haunted high schools, attended sporting events and hung out at concerts. My first observation was that no one can ignore the unwanted like a teenage male. The old lady in the corner taking notes was accepted as part of the scenery.

Second, I learned that he is VERY interested in sex. I was told by adult males that no matter how much I had my teen male character think about sex I would never approach reality. His brain isn’t used to surging testosterone levels and struggles for control. Teen girls may get hot and tingly around boys; your average teen boy deals with ten or more erections a day. Imagine finding yourself aroused, discomforted, confused and distressed simultaneously AND in public.

They may not admit it, but friendships are as important to boys as girls. They usually don’t talk about feelings except around girls (because thanks to that testosterone thing he’ll even say the mushy stuff to gain her attention) but he wants friends. Turns out guys really can bond via an argument or even a fight, and body-boxing is one of their favorite ways to show they care.

Sight is the important sense for teenaged boys; almost every other sense is ignorable. This is no problem for him, but it is for an author trying to describe the sensory setting from his POV. My adult male beta readers unanimously nixed the idea that a male high school athlete would describe locker room scents. If the boy even noticed the smell he’d be branded a wimp by readers. Add in an ability to exclude any distraction and teen males become nightmare POV characters to work with. Yet female readers expect these descriptions, so compromises with reality have to be made.

Speech is another problem area for us as writers. Our readers want dialog, yet the typical teenaged boy believes in short, clipped sentences, and won’t use two words if one will do. And most act like they get double points for using gestures instead of words. When they do speak, profanity is often a major part of their vocabulary.

The Goal-Motivation-Conflict paradigm provides additional issues. Impulse control, planning and foresight are still works-in-progress. Surging testosterone levels combine with a belief in his own invulnerability and a brain that seldom considers the possibility that anything might go wrong. The idea that many young men act first and think about reasons why later—if at all—doesn’t bother scientists who point to the forebrain and talk about myelination rates and maturation. It sometimes doesn’t even bother the boy involved. But their impulsivity means trouble for authors trying to write believable scenarios for readers who need to know Why did he do that?

Putting it all together

Sometimes I had to bend realism to keep girls from being turned off by the thoughts going on inside the hero’s head. But that’s what writers do—manipulate reality to provide the reader with an extraordinary and enjoyable experience. My compromises aren’t critical to recreating the boy world, my teen male Voice remains rough at the edges. My hero is a composite of countless guys who joke and argue and remain fiercely loyal to friends and family members; who show off when girls are around and then lay back and become themselves again once they are alone. Boys aren’t clones or stereotypes, no one is solely the jock or only the geek or just the bad guy. Each must be written so they are as unique and three-dimensional as any female character.

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BIO:

B. A. Binns is the pseudonym of Barbara Binns, a Chicago Area author who writes to attract and inspire both male and female readers with stories of “real boys growing into real men…and the people who love them.”  She is a member of RWA (Romance Writers of America), SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) and YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association). She finds writing an exercise in self discipline, and the perfect follow-up to her life as an adoptive parent and a cancer survivor.

PULL, her debut YA novel published by WestSide books, chronicles a young man’s journey from guilt and the fear that biology forces him to repeat his father’s violence, to the realization that his future lies in his own hands.

For more information visit http://www.babinns.com.

Milton will be checking in with us throughout the day to answer questions.  And don’t forget, anyone who posts a question will be entered into a drawing for an iPod Nano. 

Class is now in session.  Here’s Milton!

I was a little apprehensive when first approached with an opportunity to comment on this subject.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how interesting the subject was.  It’s no secret that women and men’s brains are wired differently.  And that’s exactly what presents the challenge for women to successfully write in male POV.

It’s my belief that we can blame evolution for the different brain wiring.  I won’t go into a deep explanation concerning the different roles each sex has played throughout the ages. But no doubt these roles have molded our thinking.  So what challenges does a woman face in writing romance in male POV?  And how does she do this successfully?  And what are the no—no’s she should try to avoid?

In my opinion, a woman would need to find out all she could about how men react to certain situations and explore the male process of reasoning.  She might read what she considers to be accomplished men and women who write in male POV. I believe the biggest trap that a woman might fall into is… not remembering that most romance is not only written by women but read by women also.  My point is, some women might leave out certain elements of the male psyche that she finds somewhat distasteful.  She might do this in fear of turning off her predominantly female readership. 

Another concern is using incorrect vocabulary.  Most men tend to suppress expressing their emotions.  To have a male do otherwise in your book could be defeating.  Unless his role specifically calls for such a male character to speak dialogue using descriptive words such as, glamorous, marvelous, or wonderful.  Most men don’t speak that way.  To him something isn’t delightful…it’s simply okay, or good. 

Another thing to remember about writing in male POV is…with most men, things are pretty cut and dried.  When men make decisions or statements they tend to feel as if they have to stick with their original statement or decision.  I guess it’s a self-image thing.  Perhaps the reason is, for so many years men were the decision makers and changing their minds meant that they were wrong to begin with.  A severe blow to the male ego.   Women on the other hand tend to change their minds as frequently as they deem necessary.  To them it’s more about getting it right than propping up a self image.  Now this might sound a little like male bashing, but it isn’t.  The evolution of the genders and society helped to guide both sexes into certain roles.        

Here are some questions for Milton:

Adrienne: What are the mistakes you feel women make when writing from male POV?

Milton:  Word choice in vocabulary. Women tend to use grades of words, ie: Crimson instead of red.  Chartreuse instead of green.  Things are marvelous with women.  The same things are just okay or good with men.  Also remembering that her intended readership is mostly women and that is the people she will have to please.  In other words, studying a male who writes men’s adventure fiction might not be the best way to go.

Adrienne:  What genre do you write? 

Milton: Spy espionage.  Mystery.  Horror.

Adrienne: Have you ever written a sex scene? 

Milton: No.  I got close one time but the sexual situation was just a diversion to the main plot.

Adrienne:  Have you ever read a romance novel? And what did you think of it? 

Milton:  Yes, many.  I think no more or less of romance novels than I do of any other genre.  There are many brilliant romance writers who excel at characterization, plot and produce exciting dialogue.  Nora Roberts is one of my favorites.  

Adrienne:  What do you like to read? 

Milton: Mystery.  Horror.

Adrienne: What do you do when things get emotionally embarrassing, hurt, confused, tough? 

Milton: Embarrassing? I usually try to laugh it off.  That seems to work best for me. Hurt? I get quiet and try to mentally tread water. Otherwise I get pissed and that’s not a good thing.  Confused?  Shut everything down and focus.  Tough?  This is when I’m at my best.  Years of training helped me here.

Adrienne: What are the top three mistakes guys make in a new relationship? 

Milton:  One is, assuming, or drawing conclusions about the relationship too quickly.  As I said before, men like things in black and white.  We like to understand and have control of a situation, or at least think we have control. No two people are alike and that includes both women and men.  Sometimes we just need to let the relationship find its natural flow.

Two.  Not listening when a woman tries to speak about the relationship and come to a mutual understanding of what is expected of each other.  Some people want to date only one person at a time.  Others might see that differently, they find nothing wrong with dating multiple people.  Other issues can arise and be very important to her, so it’s essential to listen.  A man might not agree with her assessment of how a relationship should be, but that’s what compromise is all about.  Really listening tends to make such matters easier to work out.

Three.  Squaring off with a woman.  This needs explaining. It kind of falls under baggage. Some men feel they have to establish a certain position in the relationship from the get-go.  Most people have been through bad relationships, and as a result, have preconceived ideas about how to handle the next one.  If a guy has really been dumped on he might be saying to himself…”It’ll be a cold day in Hell before I ever do that for a woman again.”  The “that” he’s speaking of might have been a very nice thing he did for the woman and she took advantage of him.  As angry or disappointed as he might be, he needs to rid himself of those feelings. In a new relationship, even if he only insinuates and never says something like…”this is how things are gonna be!”  He would be making a big mistake.  Squaring off with a woman never works, no matter how subtle it is, or how he tries to mask it.     

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Special thanks to Milton for being here.  Be sure to check in with Tracey on Friday when Theresa Stevens, Managing Editor at Red Sage Publishing, will discuss the use of backstory.