Getting Down with Your Dark Side

I don't consider myself a bad person, as I'm sure most of us don't, but man do I have a dark sense of humor sometimes.

For those of you who've been following this blog for a while, this may surprise you because I'm generally cheerful and genuinely enjoy things like YA Romance and cute pictures of kitties.

However, I have been known to laugh like a maniac during movies like MACHETE or PLANET TERROR where there is ridiculous, over-the-top blood-and-guts violence. 

I also recently discovered that I love dark thrillers and horror novels.

Does this mean I'm a sicko, and I have to hang up my Nice Girl badge?  Or can I be a nice girl who likes a bit of sex and gore now and again?

These are questions that demand answers!

Should I trade in my pink cashmere sweaters for leather pants like Sandy from Grease?  Or even better yet, should I get an eye patch or machine gun leg??  That would actually be pretty sweet now that I think about it...

I've recently been working on a 2nd Veronica Grim story to go with "No Rest for the Wicked," and I swear, I'm loving getting down with my dark side.  I'm only on page 5, and bodies are piling so high, I can barely see my main character.

And you know what?  I find it sort of liberating.

I think sometimes we have to shake it up, let loose, and wave our freak flags.  Sometimes my inner geek needs to step aside and let my inner Dexter go nuts for a while.

What do you guys think? 

Are there ever times when your dark side surprises you?

Do you feel mixing it up can make you a better writer?

Dare to Say What Others Can't

Today, I read a fascinating article on my favorite fitness blog, Stumptuous.com, that got me thinking.

It basically said that telling others the things you are ashamed of, or that are difficult for you to deal with, gives you power over those those same things.

Shame thrives on being kept secret. When you talk about the dark moments, you suddenly realize that you're not alone, and that others share them, too.
This made me think about writing because one of my favorite writing quotes is "The role of a writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say." --Anais Nin

We have the freedom in our stories to talk about the shameful thoughts we all have, or relive experiences that are difficult to deal with in real life. I feel like this is freeing for both myself and the reader.

I heard a woman read from her book (I, of course, forget who) and relay a story of dropping soup she made for a church function into a gutter, and for a single moment, thinking about scooping it back into the tourine. No one would know, right?

Well, when she read that passage we all laughed because we got it. We've all experienced those same awful inner moments where we realize that maybe we're not good people. When we read about it, we're free to admit it, and realize it's not so different after all.

We're all just human, and these things are part of the experience.

What do you guys think? As writers, or readers, do you find it helpful to throw light onto those darker moments?