Jesse Noland's Blog, page 9

Creating a Psychopathic Character

Some people hate them, others hate to admit that they love them, and some people glorify them, but psychopaths have become a staple in movies, literature and popular culture. Some examples of the most iconic psychopaths would have to be The Joker (Heath Ledger/Batman-DC Universe), Walter White (Bryan Cranston/Breaking Bad), Vaas Montenegro (Michael Mando/Far Cry 3), Joffrey Baratheon (Game of Thrones Series) and so many others. For writers, it can easily be tempting to write a character who embodies the tendencies of a psychopath. However, it is not as simple as many people think it is.

It would be best to define what makes an individual a psychopath. The definition of a ‘Psychopath’ according to the Oxford Dictionary is “A person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behavior”. Psychology Today states that a person who is a psychopath would have the following tendencies.

Coldheartedness/Inability to deeply feel emotions
Lack of Emotion and Guilt
Overconfidence
Prone to Violent behavior
Irresponsibility
Selfishness
Prone to Boredom/Continual need for Stimulation

To put in an example; Let’s say a person is waiting in line for a cup of coffee at a coffee shop and someone cuts in front of them nonchalantly. Someone who does not have psychopathic tendencies would voice their outrage and anger at the individual, but would not attempt to pursue a conflict. However, someone who has psychopathic tendencies would approach the person and physically grab them to throw them out of the line before purchasing their coffee.

Now, commonly enough, people will often confuse the term ‘psychopath’ with the phrase ‘sociopath’. While both psychopaths and sociopaths share some common characteristics, they differ in how they think and act. Oxford Dictionary defines sociopaths as “A person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience”. Psychology today would state that there are various differences that distinguish the line between sociopaths and psychopaths.

Sociopaths tend to be easily nervous and agitated at the lightest disturbances which can result in moments of anger and violence (ex. someone near them is texting on their phone and the clicking sounds disturbs them). Psychopaths have the capability to control and restrain themselves if needed.
Sociopath’s actions whether they are violent or nonviolent, are often spontaneous or ‘in the moment’. An example of this would be if someone decides to anger the sociopath over something such as a car accident, the sociopath would try to kill the person. Psychopaths are often methodical in their nature, willing to plan out their activities to the very last detail before acting.
Sociopaths are often uneducated and unable to hold a steady job in any field. Psychopaths are often very educated, even at a university level and are capable of holding a career.
Sociopaths can be more emotional in their nature while Psychopaths are often incapable of feeling emotion.
Sociopaths are often antisocial and can almost be unable to form bonds with people. Psychopaths are capable of being social despite being unable to be emotionally attached.

Creating a character who is a psychopath requires creating a person who wants control over every aspect of their lives from their work to their social lives. They are not above violence to get something done or to resolve a situation, but they know how to practice restraint. A common problem that writers have when they try to create a character who is a psychopath is that they will often try to make them overly violent without rhyme or reason. If you create a character who is overly violent, then you risk creating a character who appears almost cartoon like in the sense that they are trying copy an example of someone who is violent. The secret to creating a believable psychopath is to tone down the violence and fine tune it. The character has to be able to show that they are methodically thinking about their actions before committing to acting violent. I am not saying that you should make them non-violent, but a psychopath does not just kill or harm a person without thinking about it. With this in mind, I hope that this helps writers create a more believable psychopathic character.

Updates (April)

How time flies…I am surprised that it is already April. Well, it is time for updates as boring as it sounds.

First of all; after edits and some minor rewrites, I am proud to admit that Dead Boys is official on the market for sale on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other book retailer websites. It was hard work, but it is well worth it. You can find the link for it on the Published Works section of the website.

Secondly; Work and College has been keeping me from writing short stories, but I am in the process of writing a few down for to share for any who wants to read it.

As for current writing projects, Titans: Awakening has been going through rewrites and so far, it is faring better than the original version. There are currently sequels in the the planning phase for both Dead Boys and Experiment Twenty Six.

Thank you all for following the blog.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Wall

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Wall.”

Nestled within the downtrodden streets of Baltimore Maryland, lies an hidden artistic corner that for the most part remains unknown to many people. In a rather large alley way, there is a collection of beautiful graffiti that shows the artistic styles of artists both beginner and experienced. Along the artwork, a single black doorway sits holding the Baltimore Graffiti Warehouse, a venue for photography and art therapy.

Updates

Unfortunately due to conflict with college, there will not be any short stories for the time being. Though there are a few ideas floating around that could become good stories to share. In the mean time, I am pleased to announce that Dead Boys will be available for sale by March 20th on either print or ebook format. I want to thank fellow author George Reagan for being my proof reader for this project.

Erotica: An Opinion Piece

Everyone has a guilty pleasure, whether they like to admit it or not. For some, it is a television show or a bad movie, to others it is clothing and accessories. However, for many, their guilty pleasure comes from the contents of an erotica book.

Erotica or ‘Erotic Literature’ has become a staple in society as it indulges the sexual fantasies of readers through the scenarios detailed with its pages. They come in different varieties for different readers, from the basic sexual scenario to the more graphic and kinky sex that is meant to shock and awe. With the recent success of the Fifty Shades of Grey novel as well as its adaption onto the silver screen, it seems only appropriate to discuss how erotic novels have become an embraced product as time has went on.

Some history is in order before we discuss modern day erotica. Some of the oldest forms of erotica can be found in the form of poetry dating back to Ancient Greece and Rome, with poems such as Charito and Demetrius the Fortunate. Erotic poetry has managed to last for quite some time as examples of it can be found throughout the twentieth century and even to this very day. Though more commonly enough, erotica is more associated with novellas and books that are a more recent invention. With the innovation of the printing press, erotic stories would become more available to the public’s view and consumption. One of the earliest forms of printed erotica was Historia de duobus amantibus or The Tale of Two Lovers, which was written by Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini who would later become Pope Pius the second in the year 1444. Yes, you read it right folks. A previous pope had written erotica, not all of them were saints.

It would become a bestselling book in the fifteenth century. As time went on, erotic literature would become more popular for readers, both men and women. However, during the Victorian period, the quality of erotic writing declined because of the mass production and release of novels. This would lead to some writers being called ‘hackney writers’ or hacks who would just dole out a quickly written and poor quality book for a small amount of money. Though thankfully, erotica would become better written with authors such as Vladimir Nabokov (Lolita) and Henry Miller (Tropic of Capricorn).

With the advent of the internet and self-publishing, there has been a boost in the release of erotic literature. Though the problem is that the quality of these written books is more or less questionable.

Some of the erotic literature that becomes successful and famous such as E.L James’ Fifty Shades trilogy is not successful because of the quality of the writing, but it is successful because of the content inside. I have nothing but respect for E.L James, and think that she should be proud of what she has accomplished. But after reading her first novel, I was extremely disappointed and had to question the content of her work. Grammatical errors are one thing, they are commonplace in writing and all authors miss a few, but the dialogue is stilted and almost laughable. Yes, the sex scenes although plentiful and graphic, the conversations between the main characters Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey (Refraining from porno name jokes) seem forced and unconvincing. It almost makes me question how this book became popular enough to be adapted into a movie.

Erotic Literature has also taken a strange turn as authors have written short novellas that take bizarre ideas and turn them into sexual scenarios. One example that would make anyone take a step back would be the work of Christie Sims. Over the years, she has written short stories detailing the sexual exploration of women as they mate with…are you sitting down for this? As they mate with dinosaurs. Yes, dinosaurs. She has written stories such as Taken by the Pterodactyl and In the Velociraptor’s Nest, where a tribal woman has become enamored with dinosaurs and had sex with them. I honestly have to ask, how does someone write this sort of story? Did they develop a crush on Barney the dinosaur when they were young, or do they one day watch Jurassic Park and go “I want to f*** the T-Rex”? I mean, these are not as erotic as they are hilariously bad. Go ahead, I dare you to read one of these stories and not laugh your a** off.

Truthfully, finding well written erotica can be difficult. What might be published and sold in stores might not be as good as what someone has written and published on the internet, and vice versa. My honest advice, search around and do your research. If you want to read something that is better quality, go to a sex shop. More commonly enough the employees/owners have read their fair share and would tell you what is recommended and would help you find what you are looking for.