Current Connection: Writer's Block by Gender?

     Males and Females, two separate genders but is that all that separates us? We're all human so shouldn't we be pretty much the same on all fields regardless of our genders, especially in writing? In a article by Mike Duran, a writer himself, on his personal blog entitled "The Differences Between Male & Female Writers", addresses the possible subtle differences between male and females in the field of writing. Within the article Duran expresses his observations he has made through out his career as a writer on his, his colleges, and many other's writings and the differences in how the pattern on how men and women of this group seem to critique theirs and other's books differently.

     Duran starts off in talking about how his writing group consists of himself and three other women and he goes on to state "The girls almost always key on a character’s motivation and reaction. I almost always key on the visceral and atmospheric elements." Though this is not a large consensus of people to really draw much data from, can it not be said that women are more focused on the emotional aspects of things while men have been depicted to focus on the action of things of their surroundings. These traits of men and women can very well be also applied to their critiquing and what they look for in other books along with their very own writing styles.

    Duran, who he himself had found his own critiques to be centered around the visceral workings of the story, posed the question "Are men more genetically inclined toward the visceral, more fast-paced, less interior types of tales?" Men have always seemed to be more drawn to things that represent a violent, constant fast paced, and slightly lacking on an emotional level on a consensus of things ranging from their actual life, their shows, and if they do happen to read, their books as well. The difference in gender represents different interests and wants, though the differences can range to small and subtle to wide and vast, can lead to the difference in authors by the distinction of sex. But of course there are always exceptions to this case, not all men are like this and vise verse with women in relation to their more in depth understanding of emotions and desire for them.

    Duran goes on to explain "It’s made me wonder if the differences between men and women writers aren’t very, very real. In fact, learning to write like the opposite gender may be less about developing technique than wrestling against biology." Here he has come to the conclusion that it's not gender that dictates the way we write and what we look for in books but the technique we have learned in our styles and our point of view, which these can range to hundreds of different ways and styles. But not entirely dismissing the whole gender difference, it can be said that our gender and the preferences that come with it can greatly effect our desires and wants out of things such as literature. Which in turn can effect the very technique we use to achieve the desired effect and feel of the story.

     Personally I can very well understand Duran's point of view. I myself have been trying my hand as a writer and have been quite successful at it, though I've not had anything published or even completed yet. I too seem to lend more of my time writing to the surroundings and the depth of the are and mood of the atmosphere rather than pushing more into the realm of the character himself. Which in my experience can lead to a story with plenty of realism, as if you can feel the breeze and the atmosphere of the room, but has a somewhat underdeveloped character and is lacking in the human element. I consider myself to be slightly more emotional than most guys but I don't have much understanding of them, which is probably why I'm confused so much, which is probably more focused on the visceral part of the stories. But it's not like it's something I can't change, all is needed is a change in perspective and working on a slightly different technique as Duran had come to this same conclusion.

     In summation, is it really gender that builds the gap between male and female writers? Or is it really just our own personal technique and preference that cause the differences? Truthfully, Duran and I believe it is the latter of the two, though it can be said that gender and the preferences that follow them can influence our technique as to which it can give the appearance that it's gender that has built the gap between writers.