According to a recent poll conducted by Grammarly, those polled said that they believe that yes, women do write better than men. Grammarly found that women tend to be more descriptive writers while men are more concise writers. Women writers take the time to develop their characters, whereas male writers tend to focus on the plot. Women prefer to write about people and men prefer to write about things. However, both sexes tend to be interested in developing characters that closely relate to them. Of course, I have considered writing a novel based on my life, I just haven’t done so yet.

In all honesty, I can’t say that I have ever wondered if women are better writers than men. As I took the time to understand the results, I have noticed that these writing characteristics tend to be true. Women are lengthy and have more developed characters. However, I am not sure if I can agree with the fact that women are better writers than men. When it comes to a good novel, all that matters is how that novel makes you feel. Personally, I don’t believe that either gender writes better than the other, I believe that they are simply different, and mainly for the reasons listed in the infographic. For instance, I appreciate concision. I believe that the ability to be concise is a skill that can be difficult to acquire. But don’t get me wrong. I am also a sucker for novels with a vivid setting and round characters. Overall, I think that both genders write well, it is just a matter of the reader’s preference.

Sometimes men write better than women

For some, Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight was an immaculate series loved by many. It made both teens and adults feel something. For others, like myself, I loved Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series. I have read one Twilight book and all four Mistborn books. In my experience, Mistborn had a wider range of interesting characters and a more exciting plot than Twilight. Now one may ask how I know that the Twilight series did not eventually have a more enticing plot with new characters. The truth is that I wouldn’t know if Meyer developed a new and intriguing story with an abundance of interesting characters because I struggled to finish the first novel. I do know that both series revolve around a female protagonist that is trying to find her place in the world. Granted, Vin and Bella are living in two completely different worlds, but the idea is similar. In this case, I leaned further towards Sanderson than Meyer, leading me to believe that the males are the better writers. Then again, I am not one for paranormal romance novels, and that is my preference.

Sometimes women write better than men

But then there are some female authors that move me. For instance, I loved The Street by Ann Petry. Talk about a novel that made me cry! For those who have not had the pleasure of reading The Street, it is about a young woman living in Harlem with her child. This novel is somewhat similar to J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye in the sense that both main characters are struggling and are trying to find their ways. Both novels also take place in New York in the late 1940’s. Personally, I could not stand Catcher in the Rye. I hated this book, and I would never recommend it even though it is considered an American classic. However, I thought Ann Petry did a wonderful job at developing her characters, her plot, as well as her setting. I didn’t feel the same about Salinger’s work. Ann Petry not only helped me grasp the struggles and decisions of a single mother living in Harlem, but she made me shed tears. J.D. Salinger did nothing for me except be glad that I never had to read that book again.

Does gender matter when it comes to writing?

So why exactly am I mentioning my likes and dislikes of these books? I felt that it would help me explain the point of preference. Where some readers enjoy novels like Twilight and the Hunger Games, I lean towards Mistborn. Where most love Catcher in the Rye, I thought The Street was far superior at showing the inner struggles of a conflicted person in New York during the 1940’s.

What it all comes down to is that some writers are better than others. Now I don’t deny that the writing styles are different, because they are, but I don’t believe that it means that females are the better writers. Both genders write differently. There are some male writers who fully develop their characters, such as William Faulkner. Have you ever tried reading Light in August? He develops those characters to the point that I wished he spent a little more time on the plot. I love Faulkner, but during Light in August, he had the writing style of a female, just as how Ayn Rand was so concise in Anthem that she had the writing style of a male.

This poll provides plenty of insight as to how most females write when compared to how most males tend to write. And although I find this poll interesting, I do believe that all writers are simply different regardless of their gender. So do females write better than males? I cannot decide, but to me, what truly matters are the life lessons the author teaches through the words on the page.

A note about Grammarly

On a separate note, I highly recommend that everyone takes a glance at Grammarly. The site is a grammar checker which I have used on several occasions, and it works wonderfully! Grammarly is perfect if you write on a daily basis or if you want to improve your writing overall.  The tool is even better if you are a college student and you need to submit that term paper that you may have forgot about until these last few days. Whatever your writing needs are, Grammarly is there to help! Some of us cannot remember all of the rules and regulations of the English language. Luckily, Grammarly has that all figured out for us. So please, if you find yourself frequently writing, you owe it to yourself to use their extraordinary grammar tool. Trust me.