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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/42201
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/42201
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

 **Perhaps you understand hate, you just call it something else.**

Anger, distain, avoidance, disappointment, shock...these can all have elements of hate in them. Anger especially. The word "hate" has been used a lot in recent years and has picked up connotations it didn't really have before. Now there is a sense of moral judgement on hate and we have the common word "haters." Try to think of the word in an older sense, as something or someone you dislike in a very strong way.

**If you're thinking that only villains can hate then you're using a very narrow definition of the word.**

Everyone can hate and probably everyone does hate to some degree. Maybe you don't hate anyone you know, but you might hate a public figure who has used her/his power to do hateful things. Or you could have general hate for people who throw their cigarette butts out car windows. Or you might really hate coconut. It doesn't have to be profound and life-altering to hate something.

**If you really can't relate to it, then find people who can and talk to them.**

Treat it like you would learning about people who do or are things you have no experience with. Like drug addiction, or being a victim of trauma, or traveling to another country, or having parents who divorce. Or even small things like working in an ice cream shop or getting an F on an essay or owning a dog.

Talk to people. Your friends and family and people you don't know well. Reaching out on the internet was a good step. Learn about how different people can be inside. What makes them tick, what makes them special, how do different experiences shape them? This will make you a better writer.

Original score: 6