Into the Fire

I'm not a man. Although I appreciate the male species, I can never fully understand the way they're wired. Their brains are constructed differently from women's brains.

Keeping these things in mind, one would tend to think a female writer would choose not to feature a male protagonist and use first person point of view. Admitting it's a challenge to crawl inside a man's skin, it's an interesting and formidable place to be. And sometimes it's much more meaningful to create a satisfactory and enticing man – "enticing" in that the personality attracts empathy, understanding, and appreciation from a reader, not mirroring a worldly stereotype.

As an author who writes love stories, it's essential to give the male protagonist accurate and complex traits without minimizing or demonizing his innate masculinity. In order to do it well, the attention to the heart and soul of the character must produce depth even within his potential simplicity.

Not being a man makes the effort more difficult but certainly more rewarding when achieving success. Studying men is a worthwhile endeavor. Creating good male characters: priceless.

Father, thank you for the amazing and utter beauty of your creation, male and female. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.