3 Ways to Ruin a Male Character (And How to Avoid Them)
Direct Answers
What makes a male character one-dimensional?
A male character becomes one-dimensional when an author reduces him to a single defining trait and calls it a personality. Real people have contradictions, and your characters need deeper motivations that explain why they act the way they do.
- Relying purely on a surface level trait like being strong, angry, or smart.
- Failing to explore what drives the character or what they are protecting.
- Ignoring what the character cares about beyond their own outward image.
How should male characters express deep emotions?
Male characters should express their feelings primarily through actions rather than flowery, overly verbal speeches. While they are not emotionless robots, they generally communicate deeper feelings differently by showing more than they tell.
- Throwing themselves into their work or picking fights when grieving.
- Going silent when someone asks if they are okay.
- Breaking down entirely alone where no one else can see them.
- Revealing their true feelings through choices and sacrifices over time.
Why shouldn't every interaction between male characters be competitive?
Making every interaction a contest over who is stronger or more dominant is exhausting and unrealistic. Men possess a competitive side, but turning every glance into a competition creates a cartoon caricature of masculinity.
- Men follow an unspoken code of respect rooted in the consequences of violence.
- There is a baseline level of caution baked into male interactions.
- Men often share a silent acknowledgment of each other's specific skills.
How do men acknowledge skill in other male characters?
Men have a silent acknowledgment of skill that does not always need to be praised or spoken out loud. If another man is highly capable, others will respect that talent even if they find his personality annoying.
- Recognizing the value of a skilled fighter, talented craftsman, or strategist.
- Respecting another man's work ethic and overall reliability.
- Working together seamlessly toward a shared goal despite surface level bickering.
Avoiding Common Mistakes When Writing Men
When an author doesn't understand how to write a male character, it is painfully obvious to the reader. You create a male character, give him some personality traits, write his dialogue the way you think men talk, and hit publish.
Then the comments start rolling in complaining that he feels off or doesn't sound like a guy. You didn't mean to write him badly, but you made mistakes that instantly expose your lack of understanding.
There are crucial mistakes you should avoid when writing male characters. By understanding these pitfalls, you will know exactly what these mistakes are and how to fix them.
Relying on One-Dimensional Personality Traits
The first major mistake is making your male characters one-dimensional. This happens when you reduce a character to a single defining trait and call it a personality.
You might rely on tropes like the strong guy, the angry guy, the smart guy, or the quiet guy. You slap a label on them and never go any deeper, which comes across as weak writing.
Male characters typically have defining traits, but those traits cannot be their entire personality. Real people have contradictions and motivations that explain why they act the way they act.
Think about the strongest fighter in your story. If strength is all he has, then anytime he is in a scene that isn't a fight, he appears boring.
You should go deeper into what drives him to be strong.
Explore whether he is protecting something or running from weakness because it reminds him of failure. You can also ask if the angry character is using anger as a shield to keep people at a distance.
When you write a male character, do not stop at just the surface level trait. Dig into why that trait exists, what it protects him from, and what he cares about more than his own image.
Using Overly Verbal and Flowery Emotional Speech
The second mistake is making your male characters overly verbal with unnecessarily flowery emotional speech. This does not mean you shouldn't write a male character with a large vocabulary, and it isn't about men being emotionless robots.
It is about how they express what they feel, which is usually through action instead of words. When a male character sits down and delivers a poetic monologue about his feelings, it doesn't sound real.
Male characters show more than they tell and act more than they explain. Think about a character who has been through trauma and is barely holding himself together.
He doesn't sit down and explain all of that in a tearful speech. Instead, you see it in his actions, like the way he fights like a man with nothing to lose or pushes people away.
A man who is grieving does not monologue about his pain. He throws himself into work, picks fights, goes silent when asked if he is okay, and breaks down alone where no one can see him.
If your male character needs to express something deep, show it through his choices and what he is willing to sacrifice.
Making Every Interaction Between Men Competitive
The third mistake is making every interaction between men competitive. This happens when you turn every conversation, glance, and moment between male characters into a contest over who is stronger or smarter.
It is exhausting and simply not how men actually interact. Yes, men are competitive, but competition isn't the only mode men operate in.
There is an unspoken code of respect that exists between men, rooted in the implicit understanding of consequences. Men know that escalating to violence is always a possibility, so they don't start problems without cause.
Men also have a silent acknowledgment of skill. If another man is a skilled fighter, a talented craftsman, or a brilliant strategist, other men will respect that even if they don't like the person.
Think about two men who work together where one is the strongest fighter and the other is nowhere near that level. The weaker one respects the stronger one's ability, and the stronger one respects the weaker one's work ethic.
They operate as professionals who acknowledge each other's value without needing to prove anything. When you make every interaction competitive, you turn relationships into contests and lose the depth of realistic camaraderie.
Writing Stronger Male Characters
To write a realistic character, you must avoid making them one-dimensional. Give them depth, contradictions, and reasons for being who they are.
Avoid making them overly verbal with flowery emotional speech by showing their feelings through actions. Finally, stop making every interaction competitive, as men respect skill and cooperate when it makes sense.
Fix these three mistakes, and your readers will stop questioning whether you understand men. Ultimately, your story and your characters will be much stronger for it.