By Lucy V Hay
I’ve said it, countless times now: I’ve seen NO correlation between gender of writer and how “well” s/he writes female characters. In my experience, a male writer is just as likely as a female writer to write a GREAT, complex, flawed character who just so happens to be a woman. ‘Cos that’s what we’re aiming for, right? RIGHT.
“Shakespeare’s a dead white guy, but he knows his shit!”
YES, Shakespeare is well old and NO, he’s not PC because he was writing a trillion years ago, but he STILL managed to pull of complex female characters who were a helluva lot more than wimpy damsels, hanging about in lovely white nighties crying, waiting to be rescued.
Were you one of those kids who hated studying Shakespeare in school? That’s a shame, ‘cos there’s plenty he could teach you about writing women! But no worries, ‘cos here’s my potted versions of five of my Shakespeare faves, just for you. I know, I know, I know … I’m too good to you all. No need to say anything my friends, your tears say far more than words ever could! Hang on a sec, WTF am I saying? We’re writers, we’re all about words! So: See More . . .
