I’ve written some dark things lately. I received a comment from someone about it that I found hurtful.
He said he couldn’t believe that he had spent time with someone that would even think such things.
There isn’t a person alive that doesn’t have dark thoughts. Those thoughts may not be a murder mystery plot, but there are still all kinds of dark thoughts.
There is the guy down the street that lusts after the underage girls as they walk past his house. There’s the guy that sabotages his supervisor so that he fails a drug test. There’s the creep that fantasizes about his own daughter. The guy that will torch his house for the insurance money. There are lots of examples.
These are terrible thoughts, right?
But do we act on them? THAT is what separates us from the truly deranged individuals. Our actions.
My stories are just that, stories. I would no more act on them than I would jump off the Golden Gate Bridge.
Are you immune to the Dark Side? Do you have Dark Thoughts?
I think that person either doesn’t understand that writing dark stuff in fiction doesn’t mean we want to do those things in real life, or he’s being judgmental about how a person should act, think and write. 🙁
Everyone has dark thoughts, it’s a matter of degree, and what matters is whether or not we act on them. It’s like video games; just because we play games that involve warfare and taking the life of others, it doesn’t mean we want to take the life of others! I’ve played a lot of these kind of games and read a lot of deep, dark stories, and yet I balk at the idea of even hurting another person with a harsh remark. 😅
So don’t worry about that guy and do continue to write what you want to write. 😀
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Thank you! I appreciate your point of view on this. It’s just hard because it was hurtful.
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I understand how it feels. Hopefully you’ll feel better about it soon. ❤️
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I’m good. Thank you!
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This person is not your friend, Penny. If he were, he’d understand who you are. I’m no psychologist but it sounds to me like he’s afraid of his own dark thoughts and is putting you down because you decided to explore that aspect of the human condition.
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I agree with you. This person is No angel. I appreciate your support! Thank you!
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Yes, I have dark thoughts. I’ve written a book about a school shooting and the one I’m working on now is about vigilantes. We all have thoughts and creative methods are the best ways to dispel them. I wouldn’t pay attention to that supposed friend.
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Thank you! I appreciate the comment!
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Uh, I’m a trained counsellor, look after elderly people, donate to animal shelters, spoil my niece and nephew, and have never so much as gotten a speeding ticket. Yet my writing is filthy dark. Like, black. But it’s FICTION. It’s my WRITING, it’s not ME.
Don’t sweat it hon. If someone doesn’t get that you can write dark but it doesn’t mean you ARE dark, they’re not worth much as a friend. Hugs from o’seas.
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Oh, thank you Jess! You are so sweet. I needed that! 🙂
Hugs back!
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What a character may do is no reflection on how the writer lives their life….
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Agreed! Thanks Sue!
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We evolved yes but we are still primal within our brain. Time to time it surfaces. Everyone has dark thoughts but it isn’t dark to them but to others.
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I agree. Thank you for looking in on my blog and thank you for the follow!
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I guess the person who commented does not understand writing or fiction. It seems odd to me and I can’t wrap my head around someone making such a comment. Using your examples, just because you write a story about torching your house for the insurance money doesn’t mean that you even thought of it beyond the story. We all have dark thoughts and authors tend to gravitate towards them. It’s what makes fiction interesting.
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Thank you Trent. This guy is No saint, and I found the comment quite judgmental and hurtful.
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