I can think of a few male writers who seemed interested in their characters. Tolstoy. Dostoevsky. Chekhov. Dickens. SHAKESPEARE.
I said the difference between how men and women view fiction, not how authors and nonauthors view it. And I said 'most' men, not all - the same way I would say most people have an IQ between 90 and 110. And I said I thought the men who do write fanfic are probably atypical of their gender (in more ways than just that they write fanfic).
The majority of people are pretty poor at appreciating fiction
I don't think the majority of men are poor at understanding fiction. But I think that women are much more prone to enjoying it in an intense, personal, strongly empathetic way.
Re: We've gotten pretty far off topic here.
I said the difference between how men and women view fiction, not how authors and nonauthors view it. And I said 'most' men, not all - the same way I would say most people have an IQ between 90 and 110. And I said I thought the men who do write fanfic are probably atypical of their gender (in more ways than just that they write fanfic).
The majority of people are pretty poor at appreciating fiction
I don't think the majority of men are poor at understanding fiction. But I think that women are much more prone to enjoying it in an intense, personal, strongly empathetic way.