My reaction to racism, a book review, plus how to avoid writing all bad or all good characters

Statement on Racism and Rioting
I am 100% against racism in any form. It is a cancer which belittles us all and hurts us as a society. Racism in all its forms needs to be called out from the darkness and pointed at until we banish this disease from our landscape. I am also 100% against rioting. Anger should never find an outlet by burning and looting businesses. Who does that harm? A minimum wage worker who is struggling to make ends meet and now has no job since it has been reduced to ashes? A small business owner who has a hard enough time keeping enough customers coming in to cover their costs?

Treating each other as categories rather than people is everything that is wrong today. Republican, Democrat, black, white, and a million other things which partially define us will never overcome the largest thing that unites us. We are all human beings and will find more unity in mutual understanding than categorized hate.

A Review: Payable on Death
Now, onto less weighty matters. I read a book written by a friend of mine and I fell in love with it. The book is called “Payable on Death” and was written by Rachel Rawlings. 

I can highly recommend this book for people who love a good paranormal thriller. There is enough darkness to make it fun for the die-hard horror fan like me and enough intrigue to keep the ordinary reader reading. Check Rachel out at her website at https://rachelrawlings.com/ or at her Amazon author site which is 

Writing those hard to write characters

Sympathy is the relationship between two people where when something happens to one, it effects the other. Whereas empathy is the capacity to feel feelings as if you were someone. The difference between these two is important. If you want to make sure your writing is not as dull as a box of rocks, you must have a healthy dose of empathy. But, here is the good news, you already have it.

I want you to start off by thinking of the character Dracula. Yes, the blood sucking vampire of old who is the antithesis of a dark character. The thing to keep in mind about our friend Dracula is that the good Count was, before turning vampire, someone’s son, brother, maybe father, maybe he was a grandfather. My point is that someone loved him at some point and now … well, he turned.

We are all born in the same manner, naked and wet. We look like reptiles and that can’t be helped. So, what of it? Well, you have to consider that even the worst, most lothesome person on the planet was also born that same way.

When I go to write a character that I don’t particularly care for, a serial killer for example, I do my best to introduce a hint of humanity in their character to make sure that connection is real. I do like a good morally ambiguous character so if I can get you to reconsider a vitriolic hatred for the bad guy, I am pleased with myself.

The reality is that no person on planet earth is either all bad, or all good. The nicest person you have ever met probably did something bad for their own good even if it was something minor. Even the most evil of us are not pure evil.

Remember that when you are hammering out your characters. Yes, drip them in evil, but don’t forget to inject them with some humanity as well. This is critical if you are going to make your character believable.

Ever thought about starting your own podcast?
Thinking about starting your own podcast? Hit up the following link to find the best way to get your sho

Thank you for listening. Consider supporting an indie author by signing up to Patreon today. After you sign up, I will send you the book of your choice.