Christa Miller brought up a good point earlier, that writers are sometimes like method actors. We try to get inside our characters' heads, write them from the inside out--in essence, becoming that character.

I'm interested to know how other writers approach Evil. When you write a villain, whether it be a serial killer, a jealous stalker, a terrorist, a disgruntled employee bent on revenge, etc., how do you go about getting inside that character's head? Is it merely a matter of research, or do the best writers have a true dark side they can tap into?

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Hi Jude.

I think it might be a combination of both-- or it is for me and my current bad guy.

He's a serial killer. Of women only. He's a sociopath and narcissistic. A real duplician.
I knew the basics of those idiosyncrasies, but researched all characterists,
cause and effects.

I captured him right off (that scares me ;) and I actual enjoy getting inside his head
more than the other character's heads.

I think a writer more than most people, have a darker side to them for some
reason because we have to in order to write what we do.

Look at the dark horror genre, etc. Look at Stephen King! He's a goofey fellow,
but there's a dark place hidden inside him.
That's the way I feel about it, Jannie. We all have a horror show buried somewhere deep, and we exhume it when creating our villains.

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