AuthorsDen.com   Join | Login    
Where Authors and Readers come together!

SIGNED BOOKS    AUTHORS    BOOKS    SAMPLE CHAPTERS    AUDIOBOOKS    eBOOKS    STORIES    ARTICLES    POETRY    BLOGS    NEWS    VIDEOS    SUCCESS    TESTIMONIALS

Featured Authors:  Scott Zachary, iDarryl Jenkins, iPawan Mishra, iTracey Morait, iBob Boze, iJames Harvey, iFlo Fitzpatrick, iTeresa Walker, iBob Brink, iLinda Alexander, i

  Home > Writing > Articles Popular: Books, Stories, Articles, Poetry      Authors: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z     

Alan Cook

 Follow Me  

· Contact Me
· Books
· Articles
· Poetry
· News
· Stories
· Blog
· Messages
· 213 Titles
· 284 Reviews
· Save to My Library
· Share with Friends!
·
Member Since: Jun, 2006

Alan Cook, click here to update your pages on AuthorsDen.


Perils of Male Authors Writing Female Characters
by Alan Cook   
Rated "G" by the Author.
     
Recent articles by
Alan Cook

• Dairy and Gluten Problems
• Walking Funny
• My Parents' Courtship
• I Was the World's Worst Soldier
• Walking Quotations
           >> View all

A male writes a female protagonist at his own peril.

          Soon after I published my novel, Forget to Remember, it received a one-star review on Amazon. The woman who wrote the review had not purchased the book. She had not read the book, other than a few paragraphs on the Amazon page.

            At the beginning of the book Carol Golden, the protagonist, is found in a dumpster near death. Several days later she is going to be visited in the hospital by the male paramedics who took her there and she is concerned abut how awful she looks.

             The woman who wrote the “review” stated that I knew nothing about women. A woman who was in the hospital wouldn’t care how she looks. That reminded me of an event that happened many years ago when I was single.

             I was dating a woman with a friend who had joined a convent. One day she persuaded me to drive her to the convent so that she could visit her friend. We went into the reception area and waited for her friend to appear.

 When the young woman, who was still a novice, entered the room expecting to find only her female friend, she took one look at me and immediately apologized for not wearing makeup.

 Forget to Remember is my best-selling book of all time, and I went on to write six sequels to it.

  

Web Site: Alan Cook


Want to review or comment on this article?


Need a FREE Reader Membership?
Reviewed on February 4, 2025
Alan, I have written as both genders and about both genders. It's not hard if you are a real writer. I'm sure your book is a great read.

Reviewed by Ronald Hull
Reviewed on November 16, 2022
Writers here seem to write the best when they are the protagonist in their fiction. Better writers can write from the viewpoints of others. I have done that many times. And I believe one time wrote from the viewpoint of a nymphomaniac woman who became a stalker of stars. Don't recall any comments from women objecting to my portrayal.

Writers have told me they have trouble writing in the first person. I find it natural.

I believe you just had a buyer who was just disappointed, thinking your book was about something else. Glad that that book has become a bestseller.

Ron

Reviewed by Danny Mac
Reviewed on November 15, 2022
My first book The Six Loves of Jack Brown I wrote in the first person of six women. When finished with the story, I worried about an old man getting the sound of the women correct, so I invented the preface of the male reporter writing their stories. Several women mentioned after reading, I did capture their voice nicely. For the record, I have known men and women worried about their looks while in the hospital.

Popular Writing Articles
  1.  01 Interview with Pubisher Substack;s
  2.  You are the audience
  3.  The Death of a Website, an author's la
  4.  What Is A Real Writer?
  5.  Generation Gap
  6.  Questions to Ask a Prospective Editor
  7.  VISIONS OF THE POETS, Part 1: Andre Em
  8.  Answering a question about my novel Do
  9.  Mistakes Rookie Writers Make
  10.  How Can I Be of Service?: Conversation
  11.  AI as artwork
  12.  Voice
  13.  Why I’m Fiercely Independent
  14.  What Writing Taught Me About Myself
  15.  The Art Of Storytelling
  16.  The Power Of Memories In Shaping Our C
  17.  Learning To Write
  18.  When search engines hand you a plum li
  19.  The Worst Writing Advice I Ever Receiv
  20.  font size = 5>Vote Follow Up/font>
  21.  Why I wrote Mystery of Quercus Gardens

Free Book Review Program
Select a book to read and review today!

The One Week Writing Workshop by Karin Adams

The One Week Writing Workshop shows you how to write a book step by step through a series of motivating writing activities. Working with your own creative ideas, you’ll learn a 7-step novel writing method to use now and on your future novel projects.  
Member BookAds

Conquer Your Story: How to Write Fiction by Todd Cheney

My first journey into the world of non-fiction is here. I wrote a non-fiction about writing fiction!  
Member BookAds

Conquer Your Story: How to Write Fiction by Todd Cheney

My first journey into the world of non-fiction is here. I wrote a non-fiction about writing fiction!  
Member BookAds