why do some people feel the need to be needlessly mean?

[jana_denardo]

This is a question I'm sure we all contemplate from time to time. Both in real life and in fiction. Surely it is something we can use to move a plot a long or give depth to a villain (or take the shiny off our hero if need be)

I was thinking about this more after a few things at work and then on goodreads. It actually has nothing at all to do with me. What brought it to mind was another author in one of the publishing houses I've worked with, promoing her newest work and here comes someone (either a troll or a just permanently clueless I'm not sure which, almost leaning toward the latter since I've seen no follow up trolling) who pops over to tell her it doesn't sound like a good idea.

Fanfiction is good for the trolls too and being much older than a lot of the fanficcers, I can say that it's gotten much worse with the internet (well in the olden days of fanzines you needed to have mailing addresses and invest money and probably wouldn't get an instant or any response to the trolling).

So where am I going with this? Nowhere probably, just been bugging me. Makes me want to write a mean character then kill him.

Comments

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Wasn't that kind of the plot of Bimbos of the Death Sun?

[jana-denardo.livejournal.com]

pretty much. Mostly that was killing Harlan Ellison (or someone who seems a whole like him...)

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Well, that, too.