What is an Antihero? How to Write an Unconventional Protagonist

hi jerry jenkins here talking about all things writing today about creating an anti-hero or an unconventional protagonist who doesn't love a story in which a quintessential good guy like superman or katniss everdeen triumphs over evil but beware the number one mistake you can make when creating main characters is rendering them as perfect why because readers want to see themselves in heroes imagine themselves rising to the occasion and winning the day in the end but make that model perfect and they can't imagine themselves in that role who among us can identify with perfection the most memorable and believable heroes exhibit human characteristics flawed behavior the best conventional protagonists become heroic in spite of their shortcomings but what about the other side of the coin when a character with villainous qualities becomes the main character unconventional morally conflicted characters like hannibal lecter in the silence of the lambs or scarlet o'hara and gone with the wind these are waters known as anti-heroes protagonists readers can't help but love to hate so what exactly is an anti-hero he or she is a main character who lacks the qualities of a traditional hero such as movie star looks a strong moral compass or unwavering courage anti-heroes often possess characteristics you'd expect in a villain one who believes his motivations are mostly good that the ends justify the means and who's good when he needs to be and bad when he believes the circumstances dictate like a conventional hero anti-heroes must overcome obstacles rise to the occasion and win against all odds but their character arc must also ring true the last thing you want readers to say is that would never happen your anti-heroes rise should be both inevitable yet not predictable no easy task now let me suggest five types of anti-heroes you can choose from to create yours first the classic the classic anti-hero is the opposite of a traditional hero he's the last guy you'd want by your side in a fight he's self-centered insecure and incapable of morality his story arc sees him becoming the hero by conquering his own fears and insecurities frodo from lord of the rings and bilbo baggins from the hobbit are two examples now a second anti-hero type is the knight in sour armor probably the most common anti-hero he's fundamentally good his history explains but doesn't excuse his behavior he knows right from wrong and ultimately he has good intentions but he's just sarcastic and cynical and never lets emotion interfere with his own twisted logic basically he's a jerk his character arc sees him overcome his shortcomings popular examples include severus snape from harry potter and han solo from star wars now we come to the third type of anti-hero the pragmatic this anti-hero never loses sight of his role in the bigger picture he knows right from wrong but he'll do whatever it takes to achieve his goal even kill if necessary that doesn't mean he's indiscriminate no those who fall victim to this type of anti-hero had it coming elizabeth salander from the millennium series is an example of this kind of anti-hero as she solves crimes she exacts revenge on only those responsible for traumatizing her and others next on our list is the unscrupulous anti-hero this character will also do whatever it takes to accomplish his goals and his intentions are usually good but unlike the pragmatic the unscrupulous anti-hero's morals are non-existent his character arc is flat with him doing whatever it takes to achieve his objective regardless how ruthless his actions he believes his intentions are good and often they are jack sparrow from pirates of the caribbean is an example of an unscrupulous anti-hero and finally there's the anti-hero who is a hero in name only of all the anti-hero types this one is the one that really blurs the line between hero and villain his intentions are not good in fact at best he's morally and ethically neutral he does whatever he has to to protect someone he loves or exact revenge and he could just as easily qualify as the villain readers still pull for this type of anti-hero but he won't win the day like our other anti-heroes the character arc for this type of anti-hero might see him transform from mostly good to ruthless and finally to corrupt like walter white and breaking bad might one of the five anti-hero types we've talked about work for you choose one that resonates with you and brainstorm a character who might fit your story i'm a pantser who writes by the seat of my pants letting my characters evolve as i write but if you're an outliner you might find my character profile helpful in developing your anti-hero i'll leave a link in the description below and when you're ready to create an adversary for your anti-hero check out my post how to write a complex bad guy also linked below if you like this video found it helpful like it leave a comment share it and subscribe to my page all the best with your writing i'll see you next time

Channel: Jerry B. Jenkins

Views: 41,832

Keywords: antihero, pragmatic, classic, knight in sour armor, Unscrupulous, Hero In Name Only

Id: 7f-LsDlRZhU

Length: 5min 50sec (350 seconds)

Published: Mon May 23 2022