There are so many areas of psychology, but my favorite is dark psychology. This study of human behavior on how a person preys on the other. Manipulation and coercion are staples of what dark psychology is all about. There is so much I could say on this subject, but what I love the most is looking at how people’s mentality plays on how people behave. This is how dark psychology works, and it’s looking at how people’s behavior is affected by their mentality. 

For example, a person is raised thinking that anyone who does not believe in their religion is evil. They may go out on a killing spree because they were raised and how they think. There are so many behaviors that we can look at that come down to how a person thinks, and when we look at where their thinking comes from, we begin to realize how they got the way they did. 

Analyzing and looking at this dark psychology helps me in writing. Because when I am writing a character, I have to know the possibility of how they become the way they are. You cannot just write about killing without some back story. And that is where dark psychology helps out. 

Thoughts?

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The whole purpose of reading horror or thriller or anything psychological that is not a theory book, it the fear factor within the book that is being read. Now I see this fear factor having different levels and forms, which I can detail in my next blog. The level of the fear factor is the intensity of the fear compared to the person reading it. And the different forms of fear range, in my opinion, are psychological, bloody, paranormal, and fright. Each form has its own level, and each makes a difference in how the book you are reading reacts with the reader. These are factors that make a difference in how the book is perceived and what you wish it to be like.

The first that any good writer needs to do before deciding which forms and levels they need in their writing are to determine what reaction they wish their book to create within the reader. This is crucial to know where to go and what to do, and when to stop. As a writer of this kind of novel, I find knowing what reaction tends to help me create the right idea for my novel.

Thoughts?

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“I lose my temper, but it’s all over in a minute,” said the student. “So is the hydrogen bomb,” I replied. “But think of the damage it produces!” 

George Sweeting

I like this quote because it shows how a person may deal with their anger. Not a great way of doing it, but it is a method that people deal, by dealing damage to things and others when they are angry within themselves. Taking this idea, a writer can create many characters with anger issues who go about letting their anger in bad ways. A writer can use this to create a persona of a character who does things that are not good because of this rage that they have. I think we can use many different tools in creating characters, but one thing I like to do is analyze people and use what I learn in my characters, and form possibilities. This helps create not just a more real kind of character, but many different kinds.

How do you create a character?

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Well, after a week of reflection, my work is on hold temporarily because I am unsure as to what I might finish my book with. Where do I go from here? I have a kind of writer’s block and with holidays coming fast I think putting it aside, for the time being, is my best option. I will work on other things in the meantime. I know I have written about writer’s block before, but this can be a cruel problem that many writers face. It is not necessarily the lack of ideas but also a result of too many ideas at one time that makes a writer not know which way to go. This is where I stand. I have tried all my methods in moving past this block, but nothing seems to work. But sometimes I think people just need a break. Whether it is because of work or family or anything we do in life, taking a break can be good for one’s soul. So that is what I will do now. I will take a break and start up again after the holidays.

If anyone wishes me to speak on a subject, just leave a comment and I will be glad to talk about it.

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I am currently working on a novel, the techno killer, and I have come to an impasse. I have plenty of ideas, just I do not know which way I should go. Writing horror is not always easy. For one, I have to do a ton of research because it would be strange to have a killer in a bok not be able to do his killing right or to have something seem so far-fetched. So this takes time. But right now I am trying to figure out what direction I want to go, do I kill this person or not, do I make it out that they suffer or survive? These are questions that I have to ask myself in my book and see what possible outcomes would come from doing one or the other. Because it affects the direction of the book. If I kill off a character too early it changes how the novel is. If I keep a character too long, it can also affect the way the novel is written. So here I come to an impasse, what do I want to happen? How do I see my novel working itself out? I have to take the time and figure out what I want, unfortunately, that is where I come to a standstill. I am not sure what I want. Well, I will keep thinking about it.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to move past this impasse?

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As a writer, many things can inspire you to write a story. Sometimes it’s events in your life, sometimes it is seeing something that inspires you. But I find that sometimes research can inspire writers too. I do believe that we should always research subjects so that we can write to the best of our abilities. In the world of horror, thrillers, and darker novels,  there are many characters and real people that authors can research and look to help their creative minds work with their novels. People like Hannabel, John Gacy, Ted Bundy, the zodiac killer, and so many more can help any writer with their novel inspiring ideas of how their characters can be like. I find that people who love reading horror want a certain amount of reality within what they are reading. Even though people love fantasy, they also like to see something like the mentality of the character to resemble what is real because that allows people to relate to the character or feel something for them. So modeling your characters off of people, not completely, but certain aspects of people are helpful. The aspects I am talking about are those that relate to the mentality of the person. We as authors need to look into the mental state of these people and use that as a helpful inspiration for our characters so we can fit it into what kind of novel we desire to write.

Thoughts?

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There are many kinds of deaths that a person can have. My method in figuring out what I want for my character is to first go through if it’s to be an accident, a natural cause, self-inflicted, or murder. To me, these are the only categories of kinds of deaths. So when I am looking at my character that needs to die in my story, I look at what kind of story I am writing. If I am writing about a murderer, well murder seems the option to go with. If I am writing about someone with a mental problem, I will probably go with self-inflicted. So knowing what kind of story you want to write makes a difference in what kind of death you want to use. After you pick a category you can then figure out what kind of death you desire within that category. Such as if you want a natural death, do you desire to write about a sickness where you may need to write about hospitals and treatments. Or do you desire something quicker like a heart attack or maybe you are looking for something different and that person could just die of old age? Things are things you have to consider when deciding what kind of death you want for your character.

Also if you are going to have multiple characters die within your book, you need to look at what will mesh well together. Such as if you are writing about some murderer, having a death by cancer may feel weird and misplaced in that novel. Choosing who and how is important in any book that is being written.

Thoughts?

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I write darker novels so writing about murder or death comes with the territory. But when an author writes about murder, I find, a lot of research has to be done before we write it. Because accuracy is important for it to have a sense of realness. However, it can be off-putting to research murder, I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea (sort of speak).

Okay, how do we write about murder? Well, for me the first step is to look at who we want to die in my book and see what kind of death I want. This is the first step because how do we know what to write or how to write it if we do not even know what kind of person and death we want.

I will look at who we want to die first, which means the character that is to die and what kind of character they are. So we have to look at the physical traits the character has, such as if this character is in a wheelchair, well some forms of deaths may be harder to write as well not be realistic. Such as a person in a wheelchair may not be seen jumping off a tall building (not impossible, just improbable). I feel that physical traits can play a role in how a person dies. Also, their mental state can play a role. Such as a person who is not a coward, maybe unrealistic to have them die in a cowardly fashion. As a writer, we need to look at these details. It is important to look at these different aspects of a character because I find, it can be off-putting to a reader to read about a character, and the death does not fit the character.

How do you write the death of a character?

In my next blog, I will go into detail about the kind of death.

Not too long ago I watched a horror movie and it got me thinking of how something so minor as an app on a phone can create chaos and fright. It is fun watching movies like this because it allows my creative juices to flow and for me to think up more ways for things to happen in my books. Not that I would use this idea, but it makes a person wonder what else can be used and twisted to fit a murder’s needs. I have been working hard on my techno killer book, and find that being creative is the main point of the book because the killer uses technology to his advantage. As much as technology has its uses, it can also serve for evil and that is what my book is all about. How one guy can use technology to control and kill people in weird and different ways. I do hope I do well in this adventure of mine in writing horror. Ideas can come from any place and it’s fun sometimes having our creative juices flow into ideas and then into something concrete.

Where are some places you get your ideas? I would love to hear them.

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