Adding Flair to Your Anti-Hero

Anti-heroes extend back in literature about as far as you can go. Why are they so appealing? Because they are the most like the rest of us. We make mistakes. We have flaws. We do things because we think they will benefit us. It's part of the human experience.

Reading about, or watching anti-heroes is one thing, but writing about them can be a hassle. It's difficult to abstain from polarizing these characters, but their motives cannot be simple. Their personalities also are not streamlined into a "type."

An anti-hero can be anybody. They can be male or female, old or young, human or non-human, social butterfly or loner, wealthy or poor, book-smart or street-smart.

​With that being said, here are my tips for adding some flair to your anti-hero.

1. Make Motives Complex

​Anti-heroes are motivated to act when they can somehow benefit from fighting for a cause. They might even flip-flop between self-serving, and others-serving motives if the ends justify the means. We're all out to get what we want to some degree. So are your characters. Whether their intentions are for good or ill (or just somewhere in between), they have layered motivational factors that drive them to act.

2. Moral Compasses

Anti-heroes have moral guidelines, though they might be rather fluid. Which morals guide your anti-hero, and which might change over time? Think about your own moral code. What formed it? Who helped lay that foundation? How did you—and the things that happened to you—build on that foundation over time? Take that bit of introspection, and apply it to your characters. They're introspective to some degree too, right?

3. Sex Appeal Isn't Required

Anti-heroes don't have to be sexy. They aren't all dark and brooding, either. They can be totally average-looking! Even a lead in a romance novel can be any guy or gal you'd find out in public. They can have an inner sexiness that will make them attractive to readers (Hello, Professor Snape...).

4. Secondary Characters

Some anti-heroes aren't main characters, and that's okay! Your MC might be a straight-up hero or villain, and your anti-hero can be a secondary character.

5. Balance Their Qualities

Anti-heroes are both "good" and "bad." They toe the line, and occasionally step over it onto either side. Balance their qualities to keep them realistic. If you give them too many "good" or "bad" qualities, they might not seem identifiable to readers. Even the nastiest horror novel villain has to have some sort of humanistic quality that doesn't make them 110 percent evil... because 110 percent isn't realistic, is it?

6. Don't Justify Bad Behaviors

Your readers won't always agree with the behaviors and choices your anti-hero makes, so refrain from justifying their actions and ideas. Let your readers judge them how they will.

7. Change Their Outlooks

Anti-heroes are interesting, because of how they change. What perspectives and morals of theirs will shift by the end of the story? Will they change for better or for the worse? (Remember, if you're writing in a particular genre, *cough* romance *cough*, your readers might not enjoy an unhappy ending).

Famous Anti-Heroes

• Severus Snape ("Always." And I'm crying.)
• Deadpool
• Spike (I'm not just mentioning him, because he's the sexiest vampire ever...)
• Daryl Dixon (Remember Season One?)
• Amy Elliott Dunne
• Trevor (GTA 5)
• Jessica Jones
• Mystique

So, what are you waiting for? Let's see what kind of traits and morals you come up with for your anti-hero, and how you can make them change over time!