For Relationships AND Writing

I'd heard of "For Women Only" and its companion "For Men Only" for years, but it wasn't until my fiance suggested them to me and loaned me his copy that I actually picked one up.

(I figured it was probably an ideal time.)

Now don't mistake my meaning. My fiance was not telling me I was doing things wrong and needed to read a correctional book. He was saying that he'd found "For Men Only" really useful and thought maybe "For Women Only" would be equally interesting and enlightening for me.

It was.

I've read a lot about relationships, character and temperament, and the differences between males and females. It's something that comes up a lot when you're seeking an alternative to normal dating in highschool and also...

...when you're a writer.

Anyhow, I didn't expect to learn a ton. And, well, "ton" would be an exaggeration, because I did have a really good foundation to build on. But this book built on that foundation and helped explain some things clearer than I'd heard them before. It also presented a couple of new concepts that I was happy to learn about.

Then, because I was curious to know what they were saying about women in the other book, I went and read "For Men Only." Well, skimmed it. I didn't feel as compelled to dwell on every section as devoutly. However I found it to also be really helpful, because it gave me some really good explanations for why women are different than men, and phrases and examples I could use to explain myself and my gender to the men in my life.

Or, you know, if I'm trying to write realistic characters, both of these books are invaluable resources of surveys and comments from real people on the issues that are most diversionary between the sexes.

I promptly recommended "For Women Only" to a good friend of mine who devoured it immediately and was, if anything, even more enthusiastic about it than me. The best thing is that both of these books are very small - I read/skimmed "For Men Only" in less than an hour, and only drug out "For Women Only" because I wanted to take the time to think about what I was reading. It was really hard not to rush and read the whole thing in one sitting!

Anyhow, I would pretty much recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the other gender, particularly if they are dating, engaged, married, or a writer.