Who doesn’t love an anti-hero?
We all know these characters—they are prickly, anti-social, and sometimes downright bad. They come in a range of personalities but share the same gray morality.
Anti-heroes are hard to write for the same reason that readers love them—they are complex, challenging, yet authentic. Here are just a handful of reasons we like them:
- They challenge us to question our own morality, especially in the gray areas.
- Unlike heroes, they are frequently selfish—who doesn’t relate to that?
- They keep us on the edge of our seats—whose side are they really on? Will they make the right decision in the end?
- They usually have difficult backgrounds we can sympathize with.
- Despite their difficult backgrounds and frequent bad behavior, they still do good in the world. And who doesn’t relate to that?
- They’re often not the hero we expected, but the hero we needed.
- They challenge us to love them even when they are unlovable.
Don’t confuse anti-heroes with flawed characters. Flawed characters simply have natural human tendences like selfishness and manipulativeness. Check out this article to know more about how to write flawed characters.
But what if you want to portray an anti-hero who is genuinely bad and unlikable? Maybe someone who starts off immature, petty, or cruel? Maybe someone who has selfish motivations?
Ask yourself these seven questions.
1. Are they going to change?
If they are going to eventually change down the road, you can give hints that they are better than they seem (saving a dog or helping the main character). Or, you can completely surprise your readers by making your character absolutely unforgivable. However, it’s best to give a glimmer of goodness within your character, or at least a glimmer of humanity.
2. What is their background story?
Show a hint of their pain and what made them the way they are. The key is to let your character tell their story without making it an excuse for bad behavior. Have your character tell the story in a matter-of-fact way, as either a shameful story they usually hide or a story they think is completely normal when it is in fact very sad.
3. How are they normal?
Especially if they are powerful or intimidating, show them reacting to life the way the rest of us would. Perhaps getting embarrassed or awkward about small things, getting picky about personal tastes, or getting offended or hurt about certain insults. Showing that they are human will make them more relatable than an all-powerful, untouchable character.
4. How is their bad behavior hurting them?
Most people who do bad things think they have completely logical, justifiable reasons for doing them. Instead of showing your character trying to explain themselves, show how they think they have no other option. Show how their bad behavior is hurting them, but they mistakenly believe they can’t do anything else.
5. Do they back down or double down?
Do they ever apologize, admit they are wrong, or change their behavior because of another character pointing out their bad behavior? These characters must grow during the story, even if it is only a tiny change that indicates future transformation. Immaturity is not sexy, especially the more your readers grow up and keep returning to your story.
6. What are their redeeming traits?
Show how their bad traits can be used for good. The annoying character who can never be serious is able to encourage a depressed hero. The ruthless character who punches before asking questions is quick to rescue someone in danger. The indecisive character who researches too much ends up knowing exactly what to do in a crisis.
7. When do they become part of the “family”?
At the end of every adventure, the core group of characters have become a family after experiencing so much trauma together. How does your annoying character take their place in this family? Show how happy they are to belong to this family and how loyal they are. Find a key moment to show how your character has decided, either by valuing his friends over everything else or by doing something very difficult and out of character to help them.
One caution: don’t use good looks to excuse bad behavior. Although many readers will forgive bad behavior if a character is good-looking, this is a crutch many authors use instead of truly redeeming an anti-hero. Their characters remain beautiful but weak and immature, such as Will from The Infernal Devices. Your lovely characters deserve better as they come to life.
Ultimately, you are the writer. It is your job to redeem your characters. If they have weaknesses and bad behavior, you are the one who understands them and can help readers understand them. As George Eliot said, “If art does not enlarge men’s sympathies, it does nothing morally.” Anti-heroes stretch and challenge us to love the unlovable…and isn’t that the very definition of love?
Anti-heroes make incredible redemption stories, like Darth Vader, the Winter Soldier, or Maleficent. They can be a powerful addition to your writing—if you’re up to the challenge!
Sending love,
Anastasia xoxo