There’s no reason that writing male characters should pose a problem for female screenwriters. The differences between us may seem like a gulf that can only be crossed with a bridge of sandwiches, but we have a lot of common ground.
When writing male characters, remember:
- Don’t be shallow. Avoid defining them by how much you want to have sex with them.
- Men have a wide range of traits to choose from. They can be loyal, treacherous, timid, smart, vengeful, sarcastic, iron-willed, rude, friendly, helpful, romantic, moral, spiritual, conflicted, cruel, angry, manipulative, depressed, polite, greedy. Just like women.
- Think like a man. Men view the source of negative emotions as a problem to be eliminated rather than a puzzle to be solved without creating more problems.
The key to writing great male characters is to view them as whole people rather than a sketched-in collection of stereotypes. Give them deep desires and their own agendas to get what they want, then show how they succeed or fail on their terms and how that changes them.
It’s really not that hard.