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9 Qualities Readers Want in Your Story's Antihero
One of the most trending archetypes in modern literature and movies is the antihero. As such, it is also one of the most abused, used often to gain an automatic audience following, or to add sex appeal to a product. Alternatively, I see many beginning writers use the term “antihero” do describe a gritty, dark, or moody hero. All that being said—when created correctly, the antihero story is one of the best types available; which leaves only the matter of knowing the qualities which make a character into an antihero.
Quality 1: The Antihero has deep-rooted instincts to bring about both good and evil.
This is the primary difference that sets the antihero apart from heroes and villains. The antihero should never be just a moody hero that likes to dress in black clothing. Antiheroes are dynamic because they actually have the deep urge inside of them to do evil things, as well as good things. And a very good antihero should succumb to both.
Quality 2: The Antihero is more human and identifiable than a hero or villain.
The antihero's flawed nature, along with their hidden goodness, are what allow readers to relate to their character. Unlike heroes and villains, the antihero is allowed to be scared, angry, cowardly, greedy, charitable, and even noble—as the situation warrants. Too often, readers try to make antiheroes even more inhuman and darkly surreal than heroes and villains. But this simply detracts from what makes them so potent in a story and to readers.
Quality 3: The Antihero has a secret vulnerability.
As every person has a secret vulnerability, so must the very human antihero. You must create something within them, beyond the melodrama of having a weak spot for attractive damsels in distress, that is a serious crack in their armor. It should be a secret—just like all of us have—that if the world found out, your antihero would be devastated. This is yet another tool for ensuring that antihero's humanity.
Quality 4: The Antihero is driven by selfish motivations—saving the world/doing good are incidental.
I've said before that the best stories are driven by the characters, and this is even more true when it comes to the antihero. And what's more, this character's driving force must be truly selfish if they are to be a true antihero. This can be any motivation from regaining honor, to getting revenge, to finding the truth about a particular mystery. And if an additional outcome helps the world, well then goody goody.
Quality 5: The Antihero suffers on some level from mental illness—created by scars in their past.
While they are very much LIKE normal people, in their flaws and humanity, antiheroes must have something that drives them to go beyond normality. Now I'm not saying that they must have schizophrenia or anything so drastic, but a character must have a certain level of sociopathy or social anxiety that allows them to break away from the world and commit acts of callous evil, beyond what normal humans are able. Usually this breaking occurs when something traumatic happens in the character's past.
Quality 6: The Antihero has no regard for the law or social constructs.
Going back to the mental illness, your antihero should have an unnatural and singular desire to accomplish whatever they have set out to do. To them, the end justifies most means (with perhaps some exceptions). This doesn't mean that they don't have a personal code of honor, but that the ones imposed on them are meaningless, in the antihero's eyes.
Quality 7: The Antihero is gritty and not remorseful for being so.
As they have no regard for social constructs and abide only by their own morality, antiheroes will become a gritty sort of character. Grittiness does not come from the writer's blatant attempts at such. Too often I see an “antihero” who is completely heroic, and just swears, smokes, has casual sex, or dresses in dusty clothing. True grit comes from a character performing actions that they deem necessary to their success, that go against social norms, and that defy traditional conventions of morality and decency.
Quality 8: The Antihero gives the reader mixed feelings towards them.
If the gritty actions that your hero performs are always supported by you and your readers, then it is likely that you have merely created a gritty hero—like Wolverine. There's nothing wrong with this, but part of being human—especially one so broken as to be an antihero—is doing bad things and making horrendous mistakes of needless cruelty and evil. If you have created an antihero, there should be many moments where you and your readers are appalled by his or her actions.
Quality 9: The Antihero is dynamic, with a story-arch that leads to their salvation, destruction, or both.
Last, an antihero must be changed by the events of the story. All protagonists really should, but especially the ultra-human antihero. Furthermore, when used as the main protagonist, their actions throughout the course of the story should have been so drastic and single-minded, that the conclusion of the story can only be the antihero's salvation, destruction, or both. This is usually presented by a final choice for the character to either go forward in their mission or abandon it—and their decision dictated by what they have learned and how they have changed throughout the course of the story.
Feel free to comment with other suggested resources. Any questions about writing? Things you want me to discuss? Comment or send me a message and I will be glad to reply or feature my response in a later article. If you enjoy my reviews, please feel free to share my articles with friends, add it to your favorites, become a watcher on my page, or send send a llama my way!
One of the most trending archetypes in modern literature and movies is the antihero. As such, it is also one of the most abused, used often to gain an automatic audience following, or to add sex appeal to a product. Alternatively, I see many beginning writers use the term “antihero” do describe a gritty, dark, or moody hero. All that being said—when created correctly, the antihero story is one of the best types available; which leaves only the matter of knowing the qualities which make a character into an antihero.
Feel free to comment with other suggested resources. Any questions about writing? Things you want me to discuss? Comment or send me a message and I will be glad to reply or feature my response in a later article. If you enjoy my reviews, please feel free to share my articles with friends, add it to your favorites, become a watcher on my page, or send send a llama my way!
