I spend a lot of time watching people. Observing, if you will. How they move and talk and act when they're sure no one is watching. It's pretty interesting and I've come to some interesting conclusions.

But like always, it's not a finished conclusion until I've talked to my husband about it.

Then I get all new conclusions.

So, we were driving to my mother's, more than an hour away, and the drive takes us across The Ortega---Hwy 74, for those non-Cali folk---a windy mountain pass that is dangerous on a good day. Deadly on a bad. Which is why it continuously boggles my mind how fast and how loose people drive it. It does more than boggle the husband, who is actually driving. It drives him up the bloody wall.

I really wanted to understand why reasonable folks would cut other people off on hairpin turns with sheer 100 foot drop offs on one side of the road. It really seemed reckless. Or just stupid.

It took me a long time to realize it was neither.

If you ask a roomful of drivers if they are good drivers, everyone in there will tell you yes, they are. But in every 100 people, there's tons of accidents and violations on their records. Everyone has screwed up in some way, but at heart, they just KNOW they are good drivers.

It's the same with motivation in writing and in real life. People BELIEVE they are good people. They might mess up from time to time, they might really hurt others some times, but for the most part, everyone thinks they're a good person.

No one is inherently evil. They don't sit and plot ways to make someone else have a horrible day. They generally are thinking about themselves and the consequences of their actions hurt others. Like a driver changing lanes to get to their exit. A good driver uses his blinker to get out of their lane. A bad driver swings out as he sees a space and veers into the lanes of innocent people, causing vast destruction to himself and many others. The same principle applies to actions in other people's decisions.

I was rather pleased with myself when I shared this realization with hubby and he thought about it for a few minutes---while driving ironically---and then he said something that changed my whole perspective.

"It's not about if a person is good or evil. That's got nothing to do with how someone sees themselves. What makes a good person do awful things is justification. If for some reason they feel justified in saying horrible things or making dangerous actions, they can go to bed at night feeling good about themselves."

I'm telling you, if I haven't told you before, my husband is brilliant.

This explains the Authors-Behaving-Badly-Syndrome. The screaming driver syndrome. It doesn't excuse it, of course, but justification is a scary thing. Like people who commit horrible acts in the name of God or a cause that makes no earthly sense. People who believe they're entitled are dangerous folks.

So when that moron cuts you off on the freeway disappears on the exit, he's not laughing at how he nearly killed you or took a strip of paint off your fender. He's probably desperate to get somewhere or desperate to get away. And when your villain is starting to look cartoony and fake, maybe it's all about showing his perspective a little more. Why does he feel justified in his actions? Or even when your hero is hurtful or your heroine is defensive, as long as the reader understands why they feel they have the right to be wrong, we can let a few more things go.

Well, we can try. I'm still going to yell expletives at the idiots on The Ortega. But I probably won't be mad as long as I usually am.