Comments on: How to Write a Sociopath https://www.writerscookbook.com/how-to-write-a-sociopath/ Serving writers with all the ingredients they need to succeed Wed, 30 Aug 2023 21:30:17 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 By: Anonymous https://www.writerscookbook.com/how-to-write-a-sociopath/#comment-75939 Wed, 30 Aug 2023 21:30:17 +0000 http://www.writerscookbook.com/?p=3018#comment-75939 3.5

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]]> By: Radio Drama – Molly's Film and Media Portfolio https://www.writerscookbook.com/how-to-write-a-sociopath/#comment-62155 Fri, 07 Jan 2022 13:54:29 +0000 http://www.writerscookbook.com/?p=3018#comment-62155 […] How to Write a Sociopath How to Write a Psychopath […]

]]> By: Anonymous https://www.writerscookbook.com/how-to-write-a-sociopath/#comment-34218 Sat, 26 Dec 2020 22:59:10 +0000 http://www.writerscookbook.com/?p=3018#comment-34218 4.5

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]]> By: šŸ–‹ Writing Links Round Up 9/16-9/20 – B. Shaun Smith https://www.writerscookbook.com/how-to-write-a-sociopath/#comment-9617 Mon, 16 Sep 2019 19:48:00 +0000 http://www.writerscookbook.com/?p=3018#comment-9617 […] How to Write a Sociopath […]

]]> By: Five Links Friday 3/29/19 | Write Good Books https://www.writerscookbook.com/how-to-write-a-sociopath/#comment-7685 Sat, 30 Mar 2019 03:46:28 +0000 http://www.writerscookbook.com/?p=3018#comment-7685 […] Writing a sociopath? Here are some tips on How to Write a Sociopath by Kristina […]

]]> By: Abby Smas https://www.writerscookbook.com/how-to-write-a-sociopath/#comment-6198 Wed, 26 Dec 2018 21:37:35 +0000 http://www.writerscookbook.com/?p=3018#comment-6198 At my age it’s easiest to write from my own experience with all kinds of people. When I was younger I honestly believed most people fell into the “ok” category. Now I pretty much think everyone is “crazy” to a certain extent- especially when they are under pressure from external forces. You can really see the boogey man then.
There’s the respected, successful businessman who kept dragging his wife to therapy, only to end up in a fetal position on the floor in the office hallway, crying and saying he was dying when there was nothing physical wrong with him.. The devoted son who stole a few million from the estate to give to his own family and then lied repeatedly in court when the evidence was presented. The top salesman who brutally murdered his gorgeous wife and kept up the pretence of the grieving husband. The young lesbian couple who had weddings in 3 states and then got a divorce and each moved on to men. The upstanding family man on the church vestry who went to prison for dealing drugs.
Reality is way stranger than fiction, even when you are living a normal, quiet life in suburbia. A lot of times, a diagnosis never happens or is not possible. That can sure put a writer’s mind at ease.

]]> By: Hazel https://www.writerscookbook.com/how-to-write-a-sociopath/#comment-5530 Sun, 02 Sep 2018 21:39:13 +0000 http://www.writerscookbook.com/?p=3018#comment-5530 I’m writing a character that will be a high functioning sociopath protagonist. She’s humorous, smart, manipulative and intelligent. A question I have is can a sociopath live a normal life and have an event trigger these tendencies to come out for example a parent dying?

]]> By: Kristina Adams https://www.writerscookbook.com/how-to-write-a-sociopath/#comment-5433 Sun, 20 May 2018 09:51:59 +0000 http://www.writerscookbook.com/?p=3018#comment-5433 In reply to Scott.

Great questions, Scott!

I can’t say 100% as I’m not a psychologist or a sociopath myself, but here’s my take:

1) It would be very internal. What did that person do for them that nobody else can? What have they lost with that person?

2) This is a tougher one. For someone with any personality disorder, it’s difficult for them to go on a journey where they mature emotionally because they lack the self-awareness needed to do so. I know someone on this spectrum, and no matter what life throws at her, she will NOT change. I have known her a very long time and she’s gone through everything from breakups to life-changing surgery, and no matter what, it is always about her, and what’s in it for her. There’s no thought to how her actions affect other people. To develop emotionally, it really does require some level of self-awareness/accountability, and that’s something that most sociopaths lack. If they realise that they’re on the spectrum and decide to get help, this could be a way around it, but how they would realise it I’m not sure – the further down the spectrum they are, the harder it will be for them to acknowledge or even notice that the world doesn’t revolve around them.

While it’s important for us to go on a journey with your character(s), they don’t always need to learn something from the journey they go on. This is important for most characters, but, if done in the right way, it can be just as believable to have a character who learns absolutely nothing. There should be some sort of takeaway for the reader if this is the case, though, even if it’s just that some people will never change. The ending of Gone Girl is a perfect example of this.

I’d recommend watching Girl, Interrupted and reading Gone Girl for some inspiration. Without giving too much away, both these contain characters with personality disorders and show what you can do with them.

Hope that helps. Good luck šŸ™‚

]]> By: Scott https://www.writerscookbook.com/how-to-write-a-sociopath/#comment-5432 Sun, 20 May 2018 06:17:55 +0000 http://www.writerscookbook.com/?p=3018#comment-5432 Iā€™m currently writing a story featuring a sociopath as a protagonist, or at least I would say he is most similar to a sociopath (as I have tried to design him as such). I have two questions:

1) How would a sociopath deal/feel about the loss of someone who was very close to him since childhood (basically the only person who was ever close to him and not abusive towards him)?

2) How do you develop a sociopathic character? The general description here defines an individual that seems more static than anything, leaving little room for emotional development. I know where I want my character to go int erms of development, but am not 100% sure in how to portray his journey of emotional development.

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