Is your Dark Fiction dark enough?

I’ve labelled myself a writer of dark fiction. I don’t know why. As the guy once said, it sounded like a good idea at the time. 

It’s funny though, if you had a machine that could explore the darkest recesses of my crumbling brain, you wouldn’t find much of that subject matter in any of my writing.

You see, I’ve been taking the safe route. Writing what has been written before.

Remaining a safe distance from all those imposing boundaries. 

Do not cross here. It’s not safe.

Don’t say that, they’ll think you’re mad.

Dark fiction is a label a number of writers slap on their work without really thinking about it. 

This has popped into my mind for a number of reasons:

• Firstly, I’ve had a couple of glasses of wine. Hic! Yee gads….
• Secondly, and more importantly, I’ve just created a lead character and I’m trying to force her to be“good”. I want you to like her, see. I want you to feel her pain. I want you to go places with her. I don’t want her to be perfectly good, but then again I don’t want her to be so bad you’ll turn your back on her. I want her to be bad/good.
• Thirdly, I’ve no real idea what DARK FICTION means.

I’m trying to write DARK FICTION. 

I’m going dark, dark, dark…

But you see, I don’t know what it means. Does it mean anything at all? How dark should dark fiction be? Am I brave enough to delve into the recesses of my warped brain and pull out all the dark stuff?

Do you really want to know what really, really goes on inside my head?

Should I just let my little dark fiction heroine be, or should I tamper with her genetics and make her something she isn’t. 

Have I missed the point completely?

Probably…