Comments on: Your Inner Bad Guy

By: Julie Wu

Julie Wu — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 02:54:53 +0000

So glad this subject resonates with you, Stephanie! Thanks so much for your comment.

By: Julie Wu

Julie Wu — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 02:52:50 +0000

Thanks, Leslie! and wow, I’d surely have a tough time with a pediatrician pedophile, too! I think most people would have an easier time sympathizing with a murderer. I suppose that’s the genius of Lolita.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 01:09:05 +0000

Julie, this is a fascinating subject that resonates with me, too. I’ve also been circling around an issue of bad mothering in my book without even realizing it. I look forward to meeting your monster, whom I suspect I’ll “admire” on the same grounds as I did Leslie’s pedophile — as a character, not a neighbor.

By: Leslie Greffenius

Leslie Greffenius — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:55:56 +0000

Julie:

Not too long ago, I was working on a short story I titled “The Doctor’s Care”. When people asked me about it, I told them it was about a pediatrician pedophile. Just those (last) two words made many – besides me – cringe. The perfect occupation for such a guy, isn’t it? And so I had the nasty task of trying to get into his head, which was very scary, I suppose, for the same reasons you describe so well: I would never even come close to sexually abusing a child. Even the desire to do so is sick. Even the attempt to empathize with a person who would do such a thing is suspect. I’m not sure how well I succeeded in portraying my doctor, and I’ll be very interested in reading your portrayal of the wicked mother in “The Third Son.” Thanks for this excellent post!

By: Julie Wu

Julie Wu — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:26:11 +0000

Thank you so much–Joan, Necee, Javed, Carlen, and Christiane! I’m so glad this post strikes a chord with you, and thrilled to hear it helps you think about your own bad guys!