Male characters

[The Dark One]

I'll stick Name of the Wind right there for the most over-rated... And Anything Harry Potter, but at least I was way out of the target audience for Potter by the time those came out. NotW I had great hopes for, and despite trying to read it several times, I just can't. But! That's the beauty of personal opinions, they run the gamut. In fairness, I have tried to reread many books I read when young and loved (Sword of Shannara, cough cough) that do not hold up to my current standards. I actively resist going back to read most everything I loved in my teens and pre-English Lit days.

I read a lot (and fairly quickly) so I have no problem re-reading stuff I liked. It's interesting how much you pick up on a second or third pass that you missed the first time. Especially books with a decent twist or two - really interesting to re-read and analyse how the twists were set up when you know what's coming.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

It isn't story, it's the writing as much as anything. I can read the Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, and The Name of the Rose over and over. Which is funny because some Umberto Eco will knock me into a nap faster than crap, heh heh. My trouble is that there isn't much I like enough for the time sink; when I have the time to read, I should be writing and editing. I already suck at sitting still, so my sitting still time is pretty much writing, LMAO.

I read a lot (and fairly quickly) so I have no problem re-reading stuff I liked. It's interesting how much you pick up on a second or third pass that you missed the first time. Especially books with a decent twist or two - really interesting to re-read and analyse how the twists were set up when you know what's coming.

 

[Super Fantasy]

Guards or innkeepers are often male in my writings.

 

[Vafnir]

Just like pmmg , I find myself struggling with making male characters interesting. My WIP has two female MCs (which even end up together down the road) and one male MC. I personally find the female ones pretty captivating with their multifaceted personalities, but the male seems rather bland. In general, I think I'm doing a goodo job with my female characters. And while I have endlessly endlessly many ideas for intriguing female (or even intersex and non-binary, which are also present in my story) characters, my male characters, most of the time, end up being the calm, rational and pragmatic type. I find it weird, because this is also the complete opposite of my personality, I'm rather loud and mostly emotion-driven, so at least I'm not writing myself into these characters too much.

 

[pmmg]

I should add. This is my experience writing them. Rewriting, i cant tell the difference in interest i had. When i am done. They will all still look good.