Is anyone else like this?

I'm the exact opposite...

Welcome

Hi,

Mmlaw95 said:

I can't wait to get to know you, and hear your responses.

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I like Grits, Haagen-Dazs ice cream and Bacon.

- From another Virginian.

Hi,

I write stories with abuse themes sometimes, although I think my work is mostly about survival (novels, anyway). I'm trying to branch out in my shorts. I have no idea what this says about me, or you for that matter.

I can be a dark little bunny writer but have yet to torture any of my neighbours' kids.

Don't worry about it. But find some good betas who can advise on balance.

Hi Mmlaw95.

I don't know the answers to that, but I'm always ready to theorize about things.

It may be similar to actors taking on villainous roles. Those roles are generally much more fun and actually tend to be easier in some ways. (Like I know anything about acting!) And in writing, we have a built-in safety net that allows us to dabble in all sorts of taboo areas with impunity, so our brains and hearts want to explore things otherwise not allowed. I'm not at all into dark things or meaness as a person.. not even in the privacy of my little brain - yet I enjoy creating really angry people. Is that maybe a latent hostility within? I have to laugh at that, but it could be true to some extent.

In any case, I'd say let yourself be the creative artist you are and paint as you wish.

(*Btw... I'm wondering if Lavern mixes all those things in a blender as a sort of juicer... or what?)

If you accept Carl Jung's theory of the shadow self then you can accept that we all have dark side - or at least, a part of ourselves that we are not aware of, do not necessarily want to acknowledge or fear to share with others because we've been taught (via parents and society) that the dark part is bad/socially unacceptable.

But when we create, as in art, writing, performing etc. we can draw on that part freely and it becomes socially acceptable. If it weren't, I imagine that people like Dante, Stephen King, Val Mc Dermitt, Jack Nicholson etc. would have been locked up years ago. (Okay, maybe some of them should have been, but you know what I mean. )

But when you come across someone who only ever writes about happy little butterflies and cheerful, laughing elves and smiles all the time... watch out.

Okay, I'm kidding about the last paragraph. Or maybe not.

iLion said:

(*Btw... I'm wondering if Lavern mixes all those things in a blender as a sort of juicer... or what?)

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See this ^? This is seriously dark!

I have quite a few finished short stories about women being abused, but I see them more as therapy than anything that could be published. Who would want to read that? I also write horror, so have killers, cannibals etc.

Write what is in you to write.

I have one book that deals with abuse. I call it a dark romance with just a taste of the paranormal. My other books are an apocalyptic series dealing with death and then the struggle to survive, not just physically but also mentally and emotionally. There is suicide, alcoholism, drug abuse, etc.

After reading the first book, a friend asked me if I had been a victim of abuse. He was surprised when I said no because I had portrayed an accurate relationship he had had with his father. After reading all three books, my daughter said, "Dad, I didn't know you were so dark." I like emotionally charged, character-driven stories, so that's what I write.

Like Gail said, we all have a dark side. That's not a bad thing unless you let it affect your own emotional stability. Then you turn out like Lavern. Oh, did I say that out loud?

Oh yes - I'm generally a happy little beam of sunshine and most who know me are shocked to find out that I really enjoy horror and poking around in all the deep, dark spaces.
A few years ago, my mom confessed she used to wonder if something was wrong with me because all I wanted to read as a kid was Stephen King, R.L. Stine, and Dean Koontz. As an adult, I still very much enjoy horror, but I also consume documentaries about tough/dark issues as fast as I can find them. I think it's mostly because I'm curious - about the limits that restrain different people, what goes on in others' minds and how much of a hold it has to affect them externally. Also, I crave emotional prodding. When a movie or book drives me to deep emotion/tears (which isn't often), it scratches some deep, internal itch.

I'm late to the thread, but just had to say...

Oh yeah. I'm in with the dark writing, and the dark reading. I could theorize on why, and it would sound all very Freudian. When it comes to the writing, though, I'm good at it, and it resonates with readers, and what more could I want?

And with the reading... well, let's just say I don't share my reading preferences with folks I know offline. I'd get the eyeball.

But like lottarobyn said, there's that deep internal itch that needs to be scratched by a novel or a rare movie that goes that deep, that crosses that line.

And they're quite delicious to write.

~ Anna