Who's a better writer, men or women?

[acasto]

I think women. Women are naturally better at multi-tasking, and I think they are better at giving an overall view of every character, setting, and situation than do men. Of course, there are exceptions.

[howard718]

Is this a false debate or equivalent to the bifurcated, non-dilemma posed as, Would you rather be shot or stabbed. Are we really talking about who is better, rather than a more nuanced exchange around what genders bring to the writing and how does it show up and to what degree are you more drawn to particular men and women writers. really do we have to allow a poorly framed question to force us into topics not worthy of debate.

[kasi33]

I am a woman, so I am writing from a woman's point of view. It is my experience that women strive to understand the male point of view more then men, or at least more openly than men. I, of course, live in a small suburban area in the corner of the US, so my experience of others is limited, and I am in my late twenties, so my wisdom is somewhat short sighted. I have enjoyed equal parts of writing from both genders. One is no better than the other, rather, they are both amazing, and writing would be forever doomed by the absence of works by either gender.

[PashaRu]

Is this a false debate or equivalent to the bifurcated, non-dilemma posed as, Would you rather be shot or stabbed. Are we really talking about who is better, rather than a more nuanced exchange around what genders bring to the writing and how does it show up and to what degree are you more drawn to particular men and women writers. really do we have to allow a poorly framed question to force us into topics not worthy of debate.

Completely agree. Well said, so I won't repeat it. What a silly question.

[Alexandra Bayer]

I find that I relate more to characters written by female writers, probably because I am a female.

[Girly3323]

I think men & women can both write well. I prefer to read books by women because I relate to the way they write (since I'm a girl), and how they tell the story.

[amansmith]

I prefer to read books written by women. That being said I feel like I should disclose that two of my favorite authors are men.

Don't really know what that means, but there you go...

[autumnmarie]

This is quite subjective of me but I find that I enjoy thrillers, murder mystery's etc. by men and romance and situational comedies done by women. Yet, there are exceptions like John Green and Veronica Roth...but based based purely on my experience with writers I love Dean Koontz and Neil Gaiman for men and Sophie Kinsella and Jane Green for women.

[David Dawson]

Is this a false debate or equivalent to the bifurcated, non-dilemma posed as, Would you rather be shot or stabbed. Are we really talking about who is better, rather than a more nuanced exchange around what genders bring to the writing and how does it show up and to what degree are you more drawn to particular men and women writers. really do we have to allow a poorly framed question to force us into topics not worthy of debate.

Well, if I'm going to die then shot, but if the level of injuries aren't specified in the question then I'll take my chance with a stabbing... But, yes, entirely agree about the men vs women debate.

[tangowithParis]

I've never considered this question. I don't have a favorite color either. I do have
an analysis of my reading habits though. I read mostly non-fiction and fact based
fiction. And the last book I read by a female author was To Kill A Mockingbird, the
year it was published. I take that back. I've read Reflections in A Golden Eye and
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. I don't thinking I'm bragging or raging at the bully pulpit, when I say my perspective of the world is decidedly male. So
I'm going to gravitate toward someone who shares my perspective. Better or lesser
doesn't figure into to it.

[ekatemari]

I don't think gender has anything to do with it – how people are treated at a given point in time due to their gender will no doubt influence their style, but I don't think it's fair to say whether one is better than the other, and even given society's influence there will always be anomalies. Further to that, more genders exist outside the binary. People are different, that's all, and because of that, even if it may be reliable to say that men/women are more likely to write like such-and-such, it would be foolish to assume that all men, women or anyone else will write a certain way based solely on gender. We need to start seeing people as individuals all round if society is to progress towards equality and general fairness.

Several cents there...

[Platonov]

Feelings vs Situations? Read Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants." The one augments the other. As to men vs women, well, the pen only asks to be between the paper and the hand.

[speedesch2]

I have read many books written by both and I really don't think you can pin on which is better authors or writers for that matter.

[Bigmama1]

I have no preference when deciding to read a book. I cannot say that gender even enters my mind when checking out and deciding which books to read. However, I agree with Stephen Kingman to a certain extent. Men are more technical while women are more emotional. That is not to say that a woman cannot write a good technical/horror/thriller book. I do believe that they can.

[pagenumber394]

Well, both are good.

JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter and she is amazing.

Markus Zusak wrote the Book Thief and that was also Amazing. With A LOT of feelings.

I have heard this discussion before. I think both know how to create a world and bring depth to their characters.

People seem to say that men do not write chracters with emotion.

Try reading the Book Theif and come back to me about that without crying!

It is not men vs women. It is author style vs author style.