- Joined
- Aug 18, 2011
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I've been studying sociopaths/psychopaths lately for various reasons (my writing, suspecting I know a few of them in my life), and I had this strange thought:
Since they are incapable of real empathy, can they still be good fiction writers? They have the ability to blend in by faking emotions, but is that enough for writing--especially if a large range of emotional responses and motivations are be to read as being natural and believable? Would a sociopath/psychopath make mistakes on the page by guessing too much at how characters would respond to specific situations?
I guess more importantly, would a sociopath/psychopath even enjoy writing fiction? They are incapable of empathy, and that means they can't really live vicariously through their writing, and any deep meaning is lost to them because they are incapable of emotions beyond the most shallow and negative ones like anger.
Since they are incapable of real empathy, can they still be good fiction writers? They have the ability to blend in by faking emotions, but is that enough for writing--especially if a large range of emotional responses and motivations are be to read as being natural and believable? Would a sociopath/psychopath make mistakes on the page by guessing too much at how characters would respond to specific situations?
I guess more importantly, would a sociopath/psychopath even enjoy writing fiction? They are incapable of empathy, and that means they can't really live vicariously through their writing, and any deep meaning is lost to them because they are incapable of emotions beyond the most shallow and negative ones like anger.