Writers out there - what about genders?

[Audreidi]

No, no, Kransha, your tangent is very interesting...(rubs chin thoughtfully)

I can say, truthfully, I don't have an inclination toward male OR female characters. I find a wonderful way to tackle the issue of the gender of my main character is to sort out traits I wish for them to have, what I think I need the story to include. For example, I'm spinning the beginnings of an original fantasy piece together at the moment. First I decided my protag's traits, like how they interacted with others, how they carried themselves, etc. Then I threw in what I thought to be a sufficient amount of wisdom and knowledge. Based on these things, I decided their age, and finally their gender. I made young Ilan to be a somewhat impetuous seventeen-year-old, but he could have just as easily been a middle-aged mother striving for the same thing (the point of my story, which I will not yet reveal).

Something that will help a writer IMMENSELY is playing the opposite gender in a dramatic production. I took on the role of a male hero in a play just a little while ago, and I learned much about the mind of a man, so to speak. Now I'm able to write a male character more confidently, and if I get stuck I usually base them on a man or boy I know in real life, to get me started. My dad has some traits that I often employ when creating a middle-aged male character, and that helps greatly to make the person more realistic.