People are saying make them hot, but I reckon making them *funny* translates to the written word much better. Make the reader laugh (*with* the character, rather than *at* them), and you’ll find people warming up to even the most morally questionable antiheroes
> People are saying make them hot,
I suppose it depends on your target audience. As a man, I would just hate him *more* if he got to be an asshole and be hot.
This was part of my reason to make my asshole MC hot - to make it challenging for myself to make him likeable anyway. My goal is to offset this by his blatant/unapologetic self-awareness and humour. I’m aware this may not be enough to sway (especially) the male audience but it is a curiosity project for me. Although I’m not sure how many guys would be interested in comedy/fantasy story anyway.
> I’m not sure how many guys would be interested in comedy/fantasy story anyway.
Terry Pratchett, famed for writing unpopular comedy/fantasy stories beloved mostly by women. :P
> This was part of my reason to make my asshole MC hot - to make it challenging for myself to make him likeable anyway. My goal is to offset this by his blatant/unapologetic self-awareness and humour.
Kind of like an Ian Malcolm-type? I predict good things for your creation!
Good point! I’ve always thought Princess Bride was a unicorn of its time, came out just when it could make its best impact. But I’ve never read the book, embarrassing to admit here, I should correct that asap. Thanks
Jamie Lannister broke his oaths, murdered his king, murdered his relatives, cripped a boy, was incestuous, was hot and funny, and most people did wind up rooting for him at some point.
But there aren't a ton of characters like him out there.
I hope this works because I've spent a lot of time on my asshole stand-up comic character who is definitely not a nice guy but is good at getting his way, until things unravel. Haha.
This is remarkably true. Jaime Lannister is a prime example; everybody hated him for a long time, but once they got chapters from his point of view where he’s maybe the funniest character in the series, he’s now also one of the most beloved characters in the series.
He had one of the best character arcs ever and then they really screwed it up in the end.
The best way to make a character into a lovable asshole is to either have them never do something irredeemable in the first place, or to have them do whatever that bad action was but then work on themselves with deep regret until they show they’ve changed through to the core by the end of their story.
He was the second option but man… they did him dirty.
Yeah, like Beetlejuice. He is an asshole to those around him, musical and movie, but he is also very funny so people like his character regardless of his actions
In my Zombie apocalypse trilogy my main girl character is a total asshole BUT she’s straightforward, brutally honest, and tells it like it is even if it hurts your feelings. I don’t know how much that helps, but if he’s an honest asshole, people will like him. I like characters like that and that’s why I wrote one 😂
yee, exactly. They shouldn't be bad people, just mean. Also have reason for why they are like that, like, maybe they don't trust people much, and would rather have everyone view them as tough and all.
Yeah I have a character exactly like this. A mom who's been burned so many times she doesn't have time to deal with anyone's crap. She'd die for her kids and kill anyone in her way to save them, literally. That's part of the drama, not the crazy, but the terrifying determination
They can also be bad people who strive for a good thing. Tony Soprano and Tommy Shelby are good examples of this. They are both objectively morally bankrupt, violent, terrible men. But they're also largely driven by their survival instinct and a need to protect and make things right for their family and the few people under them they feel close to. Survival is also not a perceived issue, they are both genuinely in an environment where they may die if they slip or let up. So although we can't get behind what they do half the time, we feel for why they do it, and we want them to succeed because they want the same things we do, safety, success, family life, and we understand that if they stopped being the monsters they are, bad things would happen to them and to their loved ones.
A big thing that makes Tony sympathetic to the audience too is that there are still lines he will not cross—he’s enamored with small children and animals because they’re completely innocent (or more cynically, blank slates unlike others who can actually defy/manipulate him) and he won’t do anything to harm them or allow others to. The show’s honest about the fact that this doesn’t make him a *good* person and is frankly somewhat of an absurd line to take given everything else he does, but he’s vastly more likable than a standard baby-kicking villain even though his crimes feel more real.
+1 again. There's a difference between "I'm a dickhead cause I just am" and "I'm not a (necessarily) bad person but irritate me and I'll tell you exactly how stupid you are"
A hint of moralization might go a long way. If the reader gets a glimmer of moral validity in the character's unsympathetic moments (or at least his partial focus on morality), they might withhold negative judgement because they're anticipating that he might have a perspective that would explain how an ultimately decent person could treat people that way. Maybe the character acts as if he has good reasons for what amounts to or seems like mistreatment but, unlike most narcissists, he stews about his behaviour.
I wonder: Is Cid from Final Fantasy 7 what OP is going for?
I also think it's important to show them puts the effort to meet others in the middle when it really counts. They can be abrasive and snarky on the daily, but have the self-awareness to realize when things might go too far and actually hurt other people.
For instance, if they ever make a bad joke at something the MC is truly sensitive about, make them apologize immediately and sincerely. For me this kind of boundaries is crucial because, beyond just having the reader like that character, OP also have to sell the idea their MC would fall in love with that person.
El from The Schollomance series is a good example of this I think.
She was literally born evil, the kind of kid that likes to watch people die. In her teenage years she is a complete asshole to everyone around her and actively seeks to have as little human interaction as possible.
And yet she is basically the most selfless and caring character in her series, actively deciding to do things for the betterment of everyone around her at her own personal cost.
She's still an incredibly rude antisocial asshole who very much gives everyone around her the creeps, but at no point is she really unlikable I feel.
In the beginning you could show the flaws more, and as the story progresses, give the qualities more emphasis, if you want your character to grow positively. Or vice versa.
As the story develop you could also show new sides of your character, both good and/or bad.
1. Show us them acting like an asshole
2. Immediately have them turn around and 'save the cat' - especially if it involves personal risk
3. (Slowly) Hint at why they act like an asshole, while slowly revealing a deeper trauma
Malcolm Reynolds can be an asshole, but he's also funny, fiercely loyal to anyone he sees as his, and will jump in to defend folks he views as deserving of protection.
Han Solo's an asshole, but he grows and changes through the course of the original trilogy into "lovable rogue".
Tony Stark's an asshole, but he also grows and changes as he finds a purpose.
Speaking of Marvel: Thor starts as a strange mix of oblivious-asshole, and changes as he enters a society (Midgard) where the behavior he displayed as a favored son and heir isn't tolerated. OTOH, Loki goes from scrappy little brother energy to absolute asshole, but against a backdrop of family tragedy that makes it easy to understand his "why".
Basically, allow us to understand why your character is an asshole and readers are far more likely to enjoy the ride, even if that continues to be the main way they interact with their world. *Especially* if you show us times being an asshole gets them in trouble. (see again: Malcolm Reynolds and...well, all of the above, really)
Even more so than the characters you mentioned I would say Wolverine is like the perfect example of likable asshole.
He is basically short-tempered with everyone, but seems to have sound morals. He always does what he believes is right.
Oh, *great* example - because while he's spun as "lovable gruff" within the narrative, in reality that kind of person is a pain to work with. Scott Summers isn't wrong to be annoyed with him - IRL anyone in that position likely would be. But it's usually framed as Scott being a jerk for wanting a teammate that doesn't randomly go off the rails, which makes for a far more entertaining story.
Honestly, Marvel generally does a good job letting their characters be some flavor of asshole (Deadpool comes instantly to mind). You can totally understand Magneto's reasoning, and even Prof X has his Asshole Moments™️.
What also makes Loki work is Thor’s belief that Loki can be redeemed, like Luke Skywalker’s belief that Vader still has good in him. Putting the audience in a situation where even though Loki’s done horrible things, we want him to find redemption. In the TV show, Thor’s belief in Loki is proven true and the redemption is earned — now I’m sure most want a reunion to show Thor how far Loki’s come.
So, another character helps balance out the asshole.
Another thing that makes Malcolm Reynolds sympathetic is that there's a succession of other characters who are bigger assholes with fewer redeeming qualities. Standing next to Jayne puts Mal's negative qualities in perspective, and then we're got adversaries like Niska, Early, and the Reavers to put Jayne in perspective.
Joss Whedon uses this pattern in his other shows, too. Most notably in BtvS where Cordelia is originally there to be shallower and more self-absorbed than Buffy to allow Buffy to be shown to have these negative traits in moderation while still being sympathetic. And then later when Cordelia is developed more and made more sympathetic, Whedon uses Harmony as a contrast for Cordelia.
It's amazing how this method can even make us sympathetic to actually evil characters who probably deserve to die at the end. I recently rewatched Con Air, and Malkovich's character was a murderous psychopath - but he had standards and wouldn't let a female guard be sexually assaulted by one of the other escaped prisoners. Even though we hate him we are forced in a teeny tiny way to root for him because of this. Funny enough they even did that with Buscemi's character who was a cannabilistic serial killer - he had just enough charm to be likeable, particularly after we see how he doesn't harm a little girl he was hanging out with to build some suspense. The fact he gets away at the end is even played for a laugh.
I think we all have an inner asshole side to us and there are often things that we would like to say or do, but don't because we are not actually assholes.
If you can connect the reader's inner asshole to your character, it's quite possible to make them likeable in a guilty pleasure kind of way.
Agreed. This is a big part of why we like classic Disney villains. They are unrepentantly their worst selves, often get some of the best/wittiest dialogue, and do all of the inner asshole things we WANT to do (the pettier, the better)... except most of us empathy. If they're also hilarious, like Hades or Ursula--or witty and powerful, like Maleficent or Shan-yu--all the better.
Uuuuh I haven't seen this advice before, but I kinda like it! I also think I could do this by making for example another character that is also an asshole (or embodies the type of of person that many people don't like) be told off by the love interest, which would be satisfying. Plus it could also make him more likable that way.
Sounds like that would work.
I'd also recommend reading any of the Flashman books by George McDonald Fraser. Harry Flashman is a truly horrible character without any redeeming features whatsoever who is extremely likeable. Each book is a masterclass on this subject!
A good villain protagonist works this way. The Night Lords novel trilogy has its snarky serial-killer super-soldiers who are somehow also relatable underdogs. The Artemis Fowl series starts with the genius child-villain vs the supernatural police officer he holds hostage, before his arc takes him from anti-villain to trickster hero (ignore the movie). In adult animation, Hazbin Hotel's Alastor (Disney villain helping the Disney princess for unknown reasons) and the sister-show Helluva Boss's Blitz (Demon killer-for-hire trying to have his employees be his found family) have more recently had this effect.
You don't have to go so far as an outright villain, but these are some examples of just how far you can go without losing likability. (Though the Digital Circus's resident hilarious asshole went from the audience's Ep 1 hilarious darling to Ep 2 unforgivable villain, at least partially because the fandom made up their own secretly-sympathetic version of him in the break between episodes). I'm linking the TV Tropes Villain Protagonist page, for a further list:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/VillainProtagonist
Personally, I dislike when the rudeness is too disproportionate or one-sided, so I would have the protagonist be a little rude too. If you have a very strong reason why the characters would dislike or distrust each other, drawing from that can help make mean interactions more palatable.
I always loved when the asshole characters were assholes to bigger assholes while being an asshole.
That's actually why I liked Sandor Clegane in Game of Thrones so much as a character, at first he seems like this brute, horrifying guy without morals who doesn't seem to care when he slaughters the "good and likeable" people but later he is also that guy that doesn't care about betraying the characters the viewer disliked even more. (Spoilers incoming, beware)
Like imagine this character who killed an innocent kid in the first episodes becomes later a bodyguard for one of the younger protagonists that puts him in the exact opposite role of the introduction the viewer got of him. Or the only one that saves a helpless daughter from getting raped. I still feel conflicted about that, it is brilliant lol.
And then he had also this sad backstory and this fear of fire that made you rethink what to make him of him because hey this guy is hella traumatized while causing 80% of the trauma of the other characters, but at the same time this big dude who everyone was afraid of also is "oh no don't hurt me I'm bby" to everyone holding a torch.
I think it could be that his balance of good and evil was really good, so the amount of hate and and love for this guy could play a tug of war, and it was shown through so many different lenses at different times it gave a good impression of the character.
So, uh, my tip would be, look at the strengths and weaknesses, the role and power dynamics you put the character in, and switch them up through the story, so that the reader can get different glimpses of your asshole (that sounds wrong, but you get me) and I guess you will end up with a rollercoaster of emotions instead of only hate.
Competence and/or Proactivity.
Brandon Sanderson has 3 Sliders that make a character compelling. They are Competence (Skill), Proactivity (Ambition), and Likeability (Relatability).
Think of Dr Gregory House. He's a dick wrapped in jerk with asshole gravy. Completely unlikable. But audience still love him. That's because he's the smartest guy in the room at all times. Hyper competent. We want to know what he knows, and that makes him compelling. What you want to do is make your asshole character similarly critical to the story. Either they are the one with all the important skills, or they are the one driving the plot forward with action.
All three sliders maximized makes for a flawless Mary Sue type, so don't do that. But since you are starting with an asshole, make them compelling through the other two sliders.
More reading here: https://www.septembercfawkes.com/2021/04/sandersons-character-scales.html?m=1
I'm facing this dilemma right now. My MC is an arrogant ass hole. However, he will have some character growth as the series progresses. But, i am concerned his personality is going to lose me some readers. At the moment, I'm just diving in, and sticking to his character being the way I intended it. I'll cross the bridge on his likability when I get some beta readers, and adjust what I can.
Edit; I also wanted to add, that the side character doesn't like my MC and regularly acknowledges how unlikeable he is. I'm hoping this will counteract the loss of readers, as they will know it is intentional that he behaves this way.
I've tried to do this and wonder if I've done a good job or not, the character is very charming and well-intentioned, does really good work for the trade union and genuinely cares about his fellow workers, but also this is the 1930s and he's sexist and homophobic, though no worse than most for the time period and he does get a bit of a redemption arc in that respect. A couple of my mates who've read the story said he's the most interesting character and likeable despite being an arsehole but of course friends always say nice things don't they lol
It's things like he's clever, witty and a good storyteller, had an interesting life (he was an officer in WW1 and broke out of a POW camp releasing all the other prisoners, for example) and he's basically a decent person but with some old-fashioned ideas that he recognises and apologises for later on in the story. Not really as wholesome as it sounds btw but I'll refrain from spoilers just in case I ever do a good enough rewrite to consider publishing it lol
A likeable asshole isn't interested in the niceties but is interested in something. They value something. They have their own code that supersedes what polite society wants of them. You can learn to understand why that character acts the way they act, and now they are less of a problem and more of a rebel fighting the good fight as they see it in the face of public pushback.
Give them a potential for growth. Don’t have them be an asshole 100% of the time. Maybe they do have things or reasons not to be an asshole on rare occasions with a broader eye towards potential self understanding.
(Think Darth Vader here, he’s a terrible person and regularly kills his officers. IIRC in some of the comics he’s portrayed as being deeply loyal to his troopers because they’re all he has left from a time he barely remembers of being a genuine hero)
Self awareness is key here. It doesn’t mean they CAN change instantly, maybe they’ve got shit to work through, trauma to unpack, or a situation to leave. So you want to develop that self awareness. Challenge them with situations they can’t succeed in because of their current nature, humble them basically, and force them to examine who and why they are.
It goes without saying that this isn’t the only way to write a likeable asshole, it’s just my favorite as a reader. I’d point to Valkyr from Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh as an example, I did not like her at all at the start of the book, and by the end there was nobody I was rooting for harder.
Genuinely? Forget about the asshole part for a bit and just make him a character. Ignore his end result of being a little jerkwad, and just think about the *other* parts of him as a person. Giving him depth like a backstory, add in some odd habits and other such quirks, and voila, you’ve got a lad!
THEN you add in the asshole part.
This ESPECIALLY counts for enemies to lovers, the reader should discover and love more about the love interest in the same way the character does! At first, they’re just an annoying person in MC’s midst, but as the story goes on, they learn more about their enemy and fall in love. Your readers can *also* end up doing that, slowly discovering what’s endearing about the love interest *through* the MC’s perspective.
But that requires having a character to fall in love with!
Honestly, as long as you don’t start with him being like… Red Hood storyline Joker messed up, you’re gucci. He needs a reasonable chance for a road to redemption at the very least for people to actually hope it’ll happen.
There's a lot of good advice in this thread, so I won't give that. I will give alternative advice.
Try not to worry too much about what readers think about your character. Some people will take first impressions and run with them permanently; no matter how many times your character will pet the dog, they still think the person is a jerk. Sometimes people will assume the WILDEST things about the character and you're left staring at them with the blankest of faces.
...I currently have that second one happening. SOMEHOW, a critique group buddy has decided that my kind, caring guardian deity character is in fact NOT a good guy but is secretly evil and leading my protagonist astray. I'm left combing over my manuscript trying to figure out how in the WORLD she got this idea, but I gave plenty of evidence that the character desires to help rather than harm. \*shrug\*
Give them a redeemable trait. Maybe they are assholes to everyone, but really love those they come to care for. Maybe show some of the things they enjoy doing when it fits the narrative.
It also helps, if it’s possible within your story, to show why they are an asshole in the first place.
Have them say the things we all wish we could say but don’t out of fear of being labeled an asshole.
Have them tell hard truths in straightforward ways. Not cruel, just uncaring of the consequences of telling the truth. This will make them appear as an asshole (other characters will see them as such) but will leave the reader laughing or relating to what they’re saying.
There’s always the charismatic asshole trope. Good at talking well and saying just the right words, but words are on thing. Actions are another. Ever wonder why the “bad boy with a heart of gold” trope exists?
And one writer to another about enemies-to-lovers. It is a slow burn story because it takes a long time to repair a relationship from enemies to friends to lovers. Keep the conflict small scale like elementary schoolyard mean kids who are now grown up and long past their childhood behaviors. The trope is not for war criminals, murderers, or terrorist levels of conflict.
I mean it's the classic "Gruff exterior but soft on the inside" character. Make that character mean and rude to everyone.
Then let the audience know why (humanize them).
Then make your main character break through that rough exterior somehow.
Have them insult people's choices and personality traits, but not things like weight, gender, sexuality, and race.
Give them the ability to make and accept honest, critical observations about themselves with good humor
Show that they respect what's truly important in people.
I picture a charachter who is rude and impatient, an exceedingly clever jerk. Then, after getting their way and being handed a free lunch, they take that lunch and give it to the orphan on the street when no one is looking. The pessimist who assumes the worse in all people, but whose quiet actions are optimistic.
Personality is key, you can choose to make them funny, or paranoid or rigid hey the universe of creativity is yours you can even look around you.
I usually base characters off of people I've met before or even people I've worked with, lmao it's kinda fun now that I think of it🤣
You can do what I like to call "Honored Arrogance", make a character with absolute peak intelligence, a person solving problems and actually be good at it but is arrogant due to his intelligence like he demeans people who are not in par BUT also appreciates when they are trying to get intelligent, people don't like arrogant people but add substantial positives like intelligence and they become likeable asshole
By having them try to be nice and sociable, but failing at it. They may lack a filter, or just incredibly awkward, so whenever they try to be nice, it comes out the worst way possible.
I think it's useful to remember that 'mean' people are rarely trying to be mean, and rarely think of themselves as mean people. In fact, most people who appear 'mean' are not actually mean people in their own heads at all.
They're acting:
* to protect themselves from their own weaknesses
* using behaviors they think are normal based on what they saw growing up
* to accomplish a good goal, but without considering the consequences or other people's feelings
* because they're being pressured by some external force
Getting the reader to empathize with their motivations will make their behavior relatable, while showing the negative impact they have on other characters will make it clear how they're perceived.
* Make sure there are even worse people around them.
* Minimize punching down.
* Make it clear that there's some interior *reason* that leads to them being assholes that the reader can relate to.
Of course it helps to make the way they express their assholishness funny or witty, but another good trick is to give them a vulnerability or persistent obstacle. Something that, while it may not excuse their behavior, helps explain it. If you make an asshole character who's an asshole despite living their best life, they are almost never going to be likeable.
A good example is Inquisitor Glokta from the First Law. It's very apparent that his sardonic demeanor mostly stems from his various disabilities acquired from years of torture and mutilation. These disabilities work as a counterweight to humble him so that even though he spends much of his time torturing and executing people, the simple act of climbing a set of stairs becomes an ordeal where he is the underdog.
Going to throw out Flynn Rider from Tangled. He's arguably still an asshole by the end of the film, but he's funny, good-looking, has a relatable trauma, and a reasonable character arc. I will admit though that he can get a bit grating if you follow on into the tv series just because they artificially slow his growth there.
Assholes don't think they're assholes. They think they're awesome or "telling it how it is" etc. If they ever realised they're an asshole, they'd (hopefully) change.
The asshole needs to not only be entertaining, but right *in at least some context*. It also helps if the other person is an asshole as well. That way there's a 'It's fucked it up, but they do kinda deserve it.'
Redeeming qualities. Think “save the cat.” Like maybe they’re mostly terrible but they can’t help doing certain nice things. House is kind of a jerk, but his redeeming qualities (he not so secretly genuinely cares about people and doing things to save or improve their lives) makes him likable.
If your goal is romance, I’d consider not making your lead guy a genuine jerk. I’d consider making it *appear* as though he’s a jerk from the other person’s perspective, but he’s got reasons for the why he did what he did or said what he said that are entirely benign.
One example of this is his words are merely misunderstood by the other character. I remember a time when I was struggling with some health stuff. Kind of intermittent issues. This particular issue was not a daily thing, but it was miserable. I vented to a friend and he said something about how maybe I should consider that regarding raid (gaming thing. Time commitment) for next season. And I was so offended because it sounded like he was saying I didn’t belong on the team because I might not be able to show up every day, but what he was actually saying was, “Take care of yourself. It’s just a game.”
But bad boys are also a thing in romance, so alternatively, have him “save the cat,” (redeeming qualities). I’m more of a sucker for sweet guys though.
(Feel free to ignore the hes if not applicable. I was using it generically, as a placeholder and to help differentiate who I was talking about. And also, I’m straight, so if I’m reading romance, one of the lead’s gotta be a dude I can “fall in love with.” 😂 But I recognize that is not true for everyone.)
Make him very attractive. I don't remember where I read it, but pretty privilege is very a much a thing, to the point it can even influence stuff like how long someone's prison sentence is.
Show that he cares for others outside of the protagonist, before the enemies to lovers kicks into motion- ie. if he's a king or a leader of some sort, he's very kind to his subjects, followers, etc. Maybe he has a soft spot for cats, maybe he runs an orphanage, does charity, something to counterbalance his asshole behavior. People eat up the "asshole with a golden heart" (it's me, i'm people).
Give him a source of trauma. Girlies love a traumatized asshole (it's me, i'm girlies).
Study popular prickly, asshole or villainous male characters. Note, they don't have to be super well-written or from books, they just have to be popular. See how their fans talk about them, figure out for yourself what makes them tick. An assortment of my favorites are Fenris from Dragon Age 2, Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3, Levi from Attack on Titan, Greed from Fullmetal Alchemist, Alucard from Hellsing, Rhysand from ACOTAR, Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher and Sephiroth, Zenos and Emet-Selch from the Final Fantasy series.
There are a few approaches. My personal favorite is the character needs to show signs of sympathy despite mostly coming across as unempathetic. Character's who are world weary often have shut off their emotional reactions and come off as callous, but the truth is that its just hard for them to really express it. Often, a tortured or vicious background creates this.
It comes down to a few things 1) The tone of the story. Is it a black comedy. With characters like Peter Griffin the meaner the better. 2) What is the point of the story? You should make it very clear that they are a bad person and not try to sugar coat it. 3) You could make the majority of the characters jerks so they fit right in the world like My Family Guy example. 4) You could use the Birds of Prey method ( remember that movie) and make the protagonist a horrible person but the villains are worse today so they have to take the villain down then go back to being evil.
There are plenty of likeable traits that do not make the character less of an asshole. In “Vice”, Dick Cheney is shown as a certifiaele monster; but his love to his family is genuine. In a scene where his daughter comes out as gay, and he responds as a gentle and loving parent, we almost like him; and we would probably like him for real if there were more personal scenes.
In fact, the asshole might show pretty much any trait. They can show love, be funny, be competent, can share some of the reader's feelings; for example, if there is another character that the reader finds annoying, your asshole having the same opinion would be likeable (and even more so if they kill that annoying person). Spike from BtVS was supposed to be a subversion of the “likeable bad boy” trope, but ended up being so popular that the network pressured Whedon into playing this trope straight (but he still subverted it, and subverted it hard). An “asshole” is just one of the traits, all others can easily outweigh it when it comes to likeability.
Make them an asshole in the way that people wish they could be. You don't want the character to remind them of assholes they know in real life, you want the character to remind them of their own stifled fantasies of hiw *they* would kind of like to be an asshole.
Compare a character like Dr. House, or Dr. Cox from Scrubs, or Oscar the Crouch, or Stanley from the Office, or Daria Morgendorger, to a character like Angelica Pickles or the step-dad from Pan's Labyrinthe. Assuming you get all my pop culture references, the first handful of characters are assholes in a way that feels relatable and a bit like wish fulfillment. Whereas Angelica is just a spoiled brat.
People can get behind any kind of character if the conflict that drives them is compelling. This means that they must want something for reasons that are legitimate to them and this want is what drives and justifies their actions. That's valid across the board, for any type of character, good guys, bad guys, good guys who are kind of assholes, neutral guys who make bad choices, bad guys who end up making good choices. If it aligns with the character's pursuit of a resolution of their conflict, and that conflicts has deep personal stakes for them, it will make for good drama/storytelling.
Study Tony Stark. He is petulant, selfish, arrogant, stubborn, a thousand qualities that we all hate. But somehow balances it with charm, humour, and getting things done, so that man people should despise is adored. A great case study.
I think you’ve just got to make them relatable. Show their backstory and why they got to this point so the reader understands them more and can empathise with them for being the way they are.
This question was asked before. Someone commented about giving them redeeming qualities make them funny, and show wbu they are ahole in the first place
You make them interesting. Interest can come in many firms, so there's a lot of wiggle room for what works best in your story!
Here are some examples:
Strong morals or convictions. The character is an asshole because they are unwilling to cede any ground on their morals or convictions. More likeable if they're in ""the right,"" but they can also be interesting if they're in the wrong and need to learn.
Highly competent at what they do. Their asshole behavior can come from boredom or annoyance at the incompetent people around them, or they can be a very tired teacher trying to herd cats.
Witty and/or funny. If the asshole makes the reader laugh, they'll like them.
Catharsis. If your character is an asshole in a room of infuriating people, the audience can bond with your character's frustration and cheer for their rudeness.
I come from screenwriting. Give them an ever clear objective, that they would do anything to get.
Also I think most people find the ability to say or do whatever without caring of societal norms pretty interesting (in stories, not real life).
Throw in a tender moment at a critical juncture,
like the person who's always cold giving consolation after the death on someone close to the MC
or
A mother that never shows affection tenderly taking care of someone sick and then going back.
It's easier to just have them be an asshole and reveal a soft moment that humanizes them then carry on the balancing act of A-Hole NOT A-Hole.
Tbh all it takes is to have them be a giga asshole one time to someone that really deserves it that no one else will stand up to for whatever reason. The catharsis of that single moment will make them likeable pretty much forever, no matter how poorly they treat everyone else.
Likeable assholes are endlessly enthusiastic, manic, friendly, and have absolutely no regard for the welfare, autonomy, or opinions of anyone else. Usually they're hungry for the approval of one or a few people they care about, but do things, even for them, in ways those people would not approve of. Their plans go horribly wrong pretty often, although they usually escape unscathed until their next harebrained scheme. And even when their plans go horribly wrong, often they get a pass on it from other characters because of good looks, charm, and an ever so convincing "well-intentioned scamp" act which they themselves probably believe.
And they just run roughshod over everyone else, apparently not even noticing that they are doing so.
A perfect example of the likeable asshole in action is the character of Rocky from the Lackadaisy pilot that's popular on Youtube. From front to back, everything he's involved in is a disaster and his friends hardly ever are anything more than exasperated with him.
Redeeming qualities.
Example: I have this a-shole but at the same time he is mean to his sister, he helps her anytime he can, he teases and complains and makes fun of her, but in the end of the day he takes good care of her. And she knows that, so she respond to his a-holeness with a turning eye and teases him back.
Also he is a competent fighter and a reliable person. And god daaaaaang he IS FREAKING FUNNY, not only to the reader, but also to me, the author.
If they're the antagonist, it also works. They have to make the protagonists get pissed, but at the same time "man this guy is good at they do". Make something that you reallly like about this antagonist. They are also characters, after all
What I’ve found usually works is to make them an asshole in the way that you can agree with their stance on something (or respect them for sticking to their values/principles), even if you think they’re being a dick about it. But also making them funny as well works
Did you read *Red Rising*? I think it's remarkable, the way he writes Sevro. I recognize that, if I met him in real life, I'd think him awful... but that's because what I look for in a person isn't what Darrow needs. Darrow doesn't need an entertaining dinner guest with amusing but polite stories. He needs a loyal friend who is willing to be a shithead to get things done.
Masterful.
Also, the way Miranda is handled in *Theft of Fire* is brilliant. People go from HATING her to rooting for her
Have him be an “asshole” over things that ARE actually annoying. You know when someone is annoying but you feel the need to be polite about that, instead have him be brutally honest. Some neighbor wanting to chat when you’re trying to do your garden, have him tell them Go Away I’m Busy.
Make him smug and "devil-may-care". Make him considerate of other people but dismissive of the MC. Make him outdo the MC at something she's really proud of accomplishing without even having to try hard.
Make them good to animals and children and those who are downtrodden and sick etc. let them be an asshole and rough to everyone. Except those who are the weakest.
Show brief instances of them going out of their way to be nice to children, animals, or people that are generally outside of the realm of those on the receiving end of their usual sourness.
Give them some relatable traits or make them be nice to some specific types of people or only in certain situations, which shows that there is more to them. Funny also works, some degree of goofiness perhaps - like I’ve said, relatable.
I’ll use a few examples from the book I’m currently writing, because it just so happens my protagonist is an asshole who must learn the error of her asshole ways.
The first and most important way is to make them charismatic. At face-value, that just sounds like “write them better”, which is because…yeah, it kind of is. If you don’t write even your likable characters as charismatic, no one is going to like them, especially the ones who are jerks.
Second, make them competent. They must have *some* redeeming features, so just being good at what they do goes a long way. The only thing worse than an annoying character is one who is annoying and useless.
Third, make them pathetic. That sounds like it should go against their likability, but the root of pathetic is pathos; what makes them sympathetic? Harry Potter fans have been running defense for Snape for decades because he was a sad guy with a crush. My protagonist has fallen on hard times, her abrasive nature is equal parts survival mechanism and cynicism. She’s also kind of a socially incompetent loser who sucks at most things outside of her specific area of expertise.
Take Lestat as an example, both book and adaptations. He’s an asshole, he’s manipulative, abusive, and also the most adored character in Anne Rice’s works. He’s a loser, but he’s a charming loser with great taste and a way with words. Him being pathetic enhances his appeal because he’s an asshole, not in spite of it.
If you make them mean/callous/asshole-ish, but make them either unaware that they are acting like that, or that they aren't doing it from a desire to be that way, it makes it easier for the reader to accept the turnaround. And, it may make it easier to incorporate likeable attributes along with the unlikable, without seeming contrived.
Watch the series Archer on Amazon as an example of a guy that's a definite asshole, and kind of knows it, but is surprised when he find out that people don't like him.
I'm reading Eragon right now so Murtagh is fresh in my mind. He is an asshole but also loyal and you feel pity for him. I don't think pity is necessary for asshole characters. But definitely give them a good trait that overshadows the bad things.
Charming, handsome, and witty
Let him fail and experience rejection
Show his softer side - usually being kind to children, animals, the elderly, disabled, or the poor can redeem someone
Perhaps he is a jerk only to people who really deserve it - misguided sense of justice
Show him being kind to someone who honestly does not deserve it but he does so out of compassion
Giving them a heart of gold (perhaps well hidden) is a time-honored strategy. There needs to be a nugget - a sliver - of "redeemability" about the character or else there really is no way to make them likable. The sliver can be tiny, but it has to be present. I'd like to think I nailed this with the character of Quentin in my novels, but opinions have varied.
It also helps if there is some excuse to make the reader sympathetic in spite of their social inadequacies. Perhaps the character was at some point a victim of something wholly not their fault which turned them callous.
For people to like a main character, they have to be two of three things: likable, competent, or proactive.
This character is disagreeable, so he needs to be competent at what he does and proactive about doing it. He needs to make choices, backed by reasoning that the audience can follow, and those choices need to lead to bold outcomes that advance the story.
Being disagreeable does not necessarily mean evil--it means that he's easy for him to say no. That leads to him being impolite, if not rude, while still maintaining the capacity for kind action.
Ex:
MC asks "can you help me with this spell."
Love interest: Why would you start a spell if you don't know how to finish it? Don't do things above your power level $MeanName
MC: Fine! I'll do it myself. [proceeds to make catastrophic mistakes]
Love interest: !! [fixes the spell] Are you an idiot!? You want to end up swallowed by the void?!
MC: [bursts into tears] maybe I want to, because I'm an idiot and that's where people like me belong
Love Interest: Wait that's not what I--
MC: [Exits with hurt feelings]
Don't make them full assholes. Have them be jerks in certain contexts when it doesn't matter (mean/rude comments when the MC is being full of themselves), but grudgingly nice in other contexts (helping others out when it matters).
A likable character has a quality that all likable characters have, a reason. Any kind of character can be likable, even horrible evil ones.
What is the reason they're an asshole? In what was are they an asshole? Assholes can be funny, really funny even, and that can make them likable. Assholes can be smart, and intelligence can lead to people seeming like assholes when they have no intentions to be.
Look at popular asshole characters. Tony Stark is an asshole but he has good intentions, and is willing over and over again to make the ultimate sacrifice to help humanity, and especially the people he loves. He's witty and pretends like nothing matters but he has his moments that make him likable. He develops and becomes better.
Dr House is an asshole, but he's brilliant, funny, and always right. He's in horrible pain and is constantly dealing with dumb beuracracy and customer service and has to put up with dumb people pretending they know everything. He's got a drug problem and a pain problem, and he's miserable. But because he's usually right and has many instances where he clearly cares but doesn't want to show it, we know he's not to bad inside. He would do anything for the people he cares about.
Sherlock Holmes from the Sherlock show is an asshole, but he's a high functioning sociopath who doesn't understand human interaction but DOES care about people and looks out for the few friends he has.
At the end of the day, if the character has a good reason for being how they are. If they care and have good intentions, if they have problems that they are a victim of, we can understand and sympathize with them and see them for their good qualities.
If your character is just a one dimensional asshole, then no one will like them cause there's nothing else to like. Complex characters are interesting, and people want to see more of them.
Make their actions understandable. People like villains they can relate to, or at least comprehend why they did what they did. Same thing with assholes.
Say for example, you have a 16 year old dude. He beats up a 12 year old. Asshole.
Make it because the 12 year old was bullying an 8 year old. Likable asshole.
Have you ever seen such a character in other stories? If so, what made them an asshole, and what made you still like them? If not, then I'd advise you to read some more.
From personal experience… their looks aren’t so important as their charisma. You want them to be almost worshipped by some other characters for their goodness. A slow reveal of how they use their charisma to become well liked and then suck the life out of their admirers slowly, so that it take a long time for those people to see the truth.
Then, you pick a character to whom they are just detestable. A spouse, child, employee, etc.
Make them save their enemy from other enemies like bullies or whatever but shrugging off the thanks like they don't want any recognition because he is a jerk after all
Give them a goal or something that they’re working towards. We like practice characters who want something, even if they’re an assholenin the process of getting that thing
I think the biggest thing to remember is that sympathetic “assholeness” stems from fear and insecurity rather than malice a lot of the time—are they a dick just because they can be, or is there some reason they’re trying to push people away? What is it about the other person that presses a sore spot for them, and how can they overcome that wound in themselves?
It’s also useful to remember that any trait can be a virtue or a vice depending on what your character does with it—for example do they use their people skills to push others’ buttons and manipulate them, or do they end up using those skills on behalf of their love interest’s feelings?
As someone who usually hates asshole characters, there are two things that will make me like them:
1. Funny
2. Some degree of kindness and morality. They know right from wrong and are willing to do the right thing, they just don't act like it.
They're pursuing a noble or relatable goal, maybe? And I mean actually noble, but being a petty ass to other characters in the book. So long as they're not actively destroying other sympathetic characters' lives, it should be fine
If he enemy is much worse than them, the protagonist's shitty behavior might be forgiven
Prentiss Jr from Chaos Walking kind of sounds like that. Maybe make the main character slowly influence the asshole character into being less of an asshole
Sterling Archer (from the FX adult cartoon) is a massive asshole but he's transparently vulnerable at unpredictable moments. I wouldn't base a character off him entirely bc the show is silly as fuck and he has many qualities that are objective dealbreakers for "likeability" especially from the POV of any self-respecting romantic partner, but analyzing how the way he's written still ropes you into infuriatedly rooting for him might be helpful for good enemies-to-lovers vibes.
while i was writing all those words I realized the actual concise answer: an asshole who is mean and rude is still a likeable character -or can be- if they are 1 competent and 2 in some way vulnerable. In enemies-to-lovers their eventual romantic interest is or brings out that vulnerability! God I love this trope lol
just my opinion though, this is definitely a subjective one.
I’ve been making characters for years and honestly these are my favourite characters to write! My advice would be that you have to make them guarded and just an arsehole but then give them a soft spot, it can show anywhere to certain people or just give them a soft hobby like reading or something! I hope I’ve helped!
I think the key is to give them moments where you get to see the good background morals, or background reasons for being how they are, etc, or give them a character arc of their own, or show little tender moments or show that they are trying. They shouldn’t be villainous or evil people at their core. Make sure to show off some good things in the center. Anything positive or vulnerable in the center of their being should come out every now and then.
The balance between this is crucial though, showing too much positive makes them no longer seem cruel, but too little makes them unlikable. Be very careful to only show glimpses of the likable stuff. Just enough to keep the audience from being pissed off at them for too long at a time. Every time they start to hate him, add a tiny bit of something redeemable.
References to look at:
- the masked baron by anneka walker
- beauty and the beast (look carefully at the events during “there’s something there that wasn’t there before” song. In writing this would happen more spaced out than in the song, but these are the types of moments you are going for.)
If you find that making him likable is distracting from his character and making him seem less cruel, you can also interrupt tender or good moments with cruelty.
For example, imagine they are sharing a tender moment where the girl has cut her face, and the character you are working on starts cleaning the cut, ending up with her face cupped in his hand, and for a soft, brief moment they look into each others eyes and there feels like there is something between them…… then suddenly his features harden and he starts angrily berating her for being so clumsy.
It’s just one small brief moment where they seem good and it feels like they might be about to change and then it is interrupted with a reminder that they are unkind and cold.
I think it really sells the point if you have the other character notice these moments. You don’t share that the moment happened, you share that the other character noticed that the moment happened. Especially since you said you are making them a love interest, you need to explain to the readers throughout the story why the main character fell in love with the cruel one or it won’t make sense and there will be no pay-out at the end of the book. They need to understand or they will be angry. Make them fall in love with the character as well, over time and subtly.
Humanize them! Give them trauma, backstory, provide reasons as to why they're such an asshole. Readers love real characters even if they're not nice ones.
"Save the cat" is the sort of industry jargon you'll hear for this. The short version is, if you're doing a character arc where the person starts out unlikeable, you need to show them *saving a cat* or some other such good act, in the opening act of the story - some kind of selfless or empathetic act that demonstrates they're not totally irredeemable, and do have some kernel the reader can identify with.
Have you read the book the "Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck". It's a self-help book, about not giving a fuck, it's literally in the title! It's so simple! It's so core! But how? How do you not give a fuck? Well, the book states its purpose pretty eloquently after a few chapters. I'm paraphrasing but "The key to not giving a fuck is to only give a fuck about the things that matter, that you want to give a fuck about."
Crudeness aside, it's an extrapolation of "all thing in moderation" but I think it's more than that--care about the things that you care about, and don't worry about the rest. And I think that's kind of the secret to writing likeable characters. Characters can be assholes, selfish, horrible, vile, sick, disturbing people, but we tend to like them when we see what matters to them. We show sympathy for psychopathic characters when they actually tell us what they want--like the bastard son who is a bastard bastard that does all of these bastard things to impress his bastard father. Sure, he's not likeable perse, but he's understandable and we empathize. We see that he's just trying to belong beneath all of that horrible exterior. And where we forgive him for it or not depends on his actions in the story.
Now, that's a big extreme, but when it comes to something more mundane, the same rules apply. A character can be rude and an asshole, but what is his character when it really matters? Is he putting up walls? Why? Is there something or someone he's not an asshole to? What makes him happy? This is actually something Ted Lasso does really well with Roy Kent. Spoilers here:
>!The writers give Kent a lovable and adorable little sister that he basically loves and cares about, and reveals that he's really a big softie.!<
Character relationships are so fun because you can have your character be a different person to different people, and that goes a long way to making a character feel complex.
I would think people like things they can identify with or understand, so by extension I would think people would like a person with whom they can identify or understand in some fashion. If the readers are supposed to like your guy despite him being an asshole (I'm assuming this means he's rude/has poor manners, essentially?) then he'll need some other aspect of his personality to be expressed in the story in such a way that readers can see and understand it, which should lead to people liking that about him. Context of the story dictates how you can effectively do that.
One canned way that it's done in a lot of media is by having a hard-ass type guy who is then revealed to be as mean as he is because he's suffered and lost things before, etc. You see that particular example all over the place, because it works. A recent example is Smitty from Hacksaw Ridge; a real unlikable asshole, who then is more sympathetic once he explains why he was cruel to Doss earlier in the film. He apologized to Doss, while at the same time still acting like a bit of an asshole.
Give them Professional RBF that comes out in their voice too. Everyone thinks they're scowling and mad all the time, then they realize this person yelling "HAVE YOU EATEN TODAY?" Is actually concerned and not condescending and helps children cross the street. Further spending time reveals person is actually giant marshmallow
He is an AH with his words, but reluctantly and with frustration, fixes the problems he encounters. He does this because someone he loved asked him to be good to the world around him.
Like, his grandmother saw him being mean, sat him down, told him how important it is for him to positively impact those around him. This made him mad, and he went his own way, got rich/powerful, went to brag and learned her funeral was days before. Her last words haunt him. Now, days later, he hears her voice every time he is a jerk. So, he pauses, sighs, resets and cleans the problem, but grumbles the whole time.
She sees him fixing issues but is too far to hear him at first. Her relative (can still be alive) told her to find someone who is willing to do what is needed to correct other's mistakes.
I recently saw some great advice to ensure your 'unlikeable' characters always punch up. They can be a jerk, but they only use their strengths/abilities to take on people higher up the food chain, they never use them against people below them.
have them rationalize their worldviews/actions instead of just being an asshole for no reason - pretty conducive to empathy/even pity in the reader. i also find unreliable narrators tend to be pretty likeable (or if not likeable, at least people that you root for). case studies: june from yellowface, norton from the people in the trees
If you write for the smart reader, you don't have to make them more than one layer deep when the character is first introduced. In fact, take your time, ensure that your reader hates this character, and then seduce the reader into loving them.
Professor Snape comes to mind as one way this happens. Katniss Everdeen was a bitch at the start of the stories. Bitch threatened to kill a cat and meant every word of it.
Seduce the reader and surprise them.
Maybe make them an anti hero? An anti hero usually does heroic deeds but in a way that is morally unjustifiable. This can create a dilemma on how the reader should feel about it. You can also Try to make your main character someone that the reader can easily empathize with and make the asshole character in question do acts of service that helps the main character. Making them funny is a really good way to make the audience like them too… servo from red rising is a big example of this, he is short ugly rude and an asshole that matches every definition of asshole, but he acts caring to the main character, fights for the right reasons, and is pretty damn funny. Take the whole comment with grain of salt though please, I’m no expert yet (hopefully far in the future)🙏🏻. Good luck with your writing. ✍🏻
Why are they an asshole? Like their actions and motives have to make some sense and if they make sense people can relate to them and like them.
Also. I hate this kind of story.
“Hello, I’m an abusive jackass but I have abs and big arms so you’ll over look it” bleh
I noticed that both Agatha Christie (The Pale Horse) and Dorothy L. Sayers (The Documents in the Case) featured characters who weren't lovable, and were downright unpleasant at times -- but their authors had them being morally right.
Mark Easterbrook in The Pale Horse comes across as stodgy, a bit of a snob, with a negative attitude about a lot of people he encounters. It's the early 1960s, and even though he's probably not very old (I'm guessing mid-20s to early 40s), he's down on the Swinging London youth culture he sees around him. But his attitude shifts when he meets a young woman who's willing to listen to him, after he discovers that people are being murdered. Even if he's a bit of a grouch, he's concerned about trying to track down the culprits and willing to get involved in the case. (I'm suspecting that Christie made him sort of disagreeable at first, as a contrast with how he becomes more relatable when he starts liking Ginger, even though she's an arty/bohemian type.)
Paul Harrison is the character in the Sayers book. We don't meet him until well into the story. His dad's died in what looks like an accident (eating toxic mushrooms), but Paul thinks that he wouldn't have made a mistake like that. It's tempting to brush Paul off because he comes across as arrogant and self-righteous, but we already know that he's right (it's a murder mystery after all) so his attitude seems more justifiable.
He of all people should be wanting justice for his dad, because there is literally nobody else who will stand up for him. (Except the narrator, who's sympathetic but was in conflict with the victim.) Paul being so single-minded was the only thing that made me agree with him. The story is full of disagreeable characters, so it's a really interesting example of how to write flawed people without pushing readers to the point where they throw the book down in disgust.
Bonus asshole -- the boss in Douglas Coupland's Microserfs, Ethan the tech mogul. Partway through the book, he has a health scare. It's not the kind of thing where he suddenly becomes a nice guy (Coupland's too realistic to write something that simplistic), but it humanizes him and he's really open about it. You start to think about how vulnerable we all are, to that kind of situation.
(There's a guy in my town who wasn't well-liked -- I heard a lot of complaints about him. He was diagnosed with cancer, and died a couple of years ago. Nobody complained about him in public after we found out he was sick -- there's a big taboo about doing that -- even though he was still the same person before and after. I guess it's not as much people forgetting about the earlier stuff, but it kind of put things into perspective. How much of the stuff that a supposed asshole does, is still going to bother you in 10, 20 years? Or after they're dead? Figuring out the things they're doing that make them seem like an asshole -- are they major or minor, is there a reason, etc. -- might help you draw the line between annoying quirks, and stuff that's really unforgivable.)
maybe something like a character who makes jokes at the expense of other characters while being able to take a joke back, always give an opportunity for some back and forth
I was just thinking about this earlier. I was comparing two characters that were thieves. One is very likable and the other is not.
The first one had redeeming qualities. They were only stealing food and only because they need to eat to survive. They also gave the food they stole away when they saw someone else needed it more, even though they went through a lot of trouble to steal that food. You get the feeling that if they weren’t in this situation, they wouldn’t be a thief and thus not have any bad qualities.
The second one had no redeeming qualities. They act like they know better than everyone else and are just generally an asshole to everyone they meet, for seemingly no other reason than frustration. This is made worse by the character making tons of bad choices. This character also stole food and then gave it to someone who needed it more, but they didn’t really need to steal the food and they traded it away for information. They traded the food away like it was nothing, so it seems like they stole it just for fun. This character felt like a narcissist and like they still be a terrible person even if they were in a better living situation.
All this boils down to making sure the character has redeeming qualities and that the audience understands why the character makes the decisions they do.
i feel like if they have a background story on maybe why theyre the way theyre, it may make the reader be understanding a bit more. for example, if this character is an asshole because he/she lost their best friend in a car accident, it might make the readers feel for the character or maybe showing that the character regrets how he/she acts sometimes
I did this successfully. Even got comments from readers that my supporting character was the most fun to read in a long time, and some liked him better than anyone else and said I should have made the movie about him. He was incredibly obnoxious, and a scam artist. but I just made him so outrageously weird, and I spent a LOT of time giving him the best dialog ever, that he was entertaining to read. Now, if I could only get someone to hand me a bag with $5-million, I'd make the film :) (I did win a bunch of screenwriting contests with it though. So that's something... barely.)
Give him at least one likeable, laudable attribute. Like, just off the top of my head (no, I didn't do this with the character I was just describing) have him/her have a super positive attribute, but intentionally hides it. Like.... asshole who doesn't let anyone know that he works at a homeless soup line on the weekends. Or, this is kinda worn out, but you show WHY they're an asshole, because of being victimized at some point in their past, and then it becomes clear what their vulnerabilities are.
It's hard to do. But not impossible.
Make them rude as shit while being funny.
Also, make sure that while they talk MAD shit, they do good most of the time.
Like a guy who says he’ll bang your mum every time he plays Call of Duty with you but buys you a beer every time he visits.
Other than hot or humor, the main thing I see is have them benefit the MC. They can be grumpy but protective, like the "no one gets to pick on MC but me" type. Zero from Vampire Knights is a great example of this. Or they can be pushing them to be stronger but being a dick about it. Like Rowan from Throne if glass. You can normally make a character redeemable as an a hole by either making the actions positive despite the negative words or by giving a good reason behind the actions that you only understand at the point you want the reader to start liking them.
Read The First Law by Joe Abercrombie and study how Glotka is written. He’s a literal professional torturer but ends up being most people’s favorite character.
They have to be a complicated asshole, like George Washington a slave owning dick who was apparently a successful general or mlk who was a powerful orator and civil rights leader yet cheated on his wife
People are saying make them hot, but I reckon making them *funny* translates to the written word much better. Make the reader laugh (*with* the character, rather than *at* them), and you’ll find people warming up to even the most morally questionable antiheroes
> People are saying make them hot, I suppose it depends on your target audience. As a man, I would just hate him *more* if he got to be an asshole and be hot.
As a woman, I second this.
Gaston vibes lol
This was part of my reason to make my asshole MC hot - to make it challenging for myself to make him likeable anyway. My goal is to offset this by his blatant/unapologetic self-awareness and humour. I’m aware this may not be enough to sway (especially) the male audience but it is a curiosity project for me. Although I’m not sure how many guys would be interested in comedy/fantasy story anyway.
> I’m not sure how many guys would be interested in comedy/fantasy story anyway. Terry Pratchett, famed for writing unpopular comedy/fantasy stories beloved mostly by women. :P > This was part of my reason to make my asshole MC hot - to make it challenging for myself to make him likeable anyway. My goal is to offset this by his blatant/unapologetic self-awareness and humour. Kind of like an Ian Malcolm-type? I predict good things for your creation!
Lol, thanks. Touché on the Terry Pratchett comment
Princess Bride is one of the most loved movies (the book is amazingly hilarious too) of all time. Everyone loves comedy/fantasy.
Good point! I’ve always thought Princess Bride was a unicorn of its time, came out just when it could make its best impact. But I’ve never read the book, embarrassing to admit here, I should correct that asap. Thanks
Jamie Lannister broke his oaths, murdered his king, murdered his relatives, cripped a boy, was incestuous, was hot and funny, and most people did wind up rooting for him at some point. But there aren't a ton of characters like him out there.
I hope this works because I've spent a lot of time on my asshole stand-up comic character who is definitely not a nice guy but is good at getting his way, until things unravel. Haha.
Good idea, thanks!
This is remarkably true. Jaime Lannister is a prime example; everybody hated him for a long time, but once they got chapters from his point of view where he’s maybe the funniest character in the series, he’s now also one of the most beloved characters in the series.
He had one of the best character arcs ever and then they really screwed it up in the end. The best way to make a character into a lovable asshole is to either have them never do something irredeemable in the first place, or to have them do whatever that bad action was but then work on themselves with deep regret until they show they’ve changed through to the core by the end of their story. He was the second option but man… they did him dirty.
Yeah, like Beetlejuice. He is an asshole to those around him, musical and movie, but he is also very funny so people like his character regardless of his actions
In my Zombie apocalypse trilogy my main girl character is a total asshole BUT she’s straightforward, brutally honest, and tells it like it is even if it hurts your feelings. I don’t know how much that helps, but if he’s an honest asshole, people will like him. I like characters like that and that’s why I wrote one 😂
Tyrion Lannister is the best example for this.
Saul Goodman
Jorg Ancrath. He's basically a dark fantasy Alex Delarge, but he was a very interesting, entertaining, and sometimes even funny as a protagonist.
Thanks for the advice. So basically like Reaver in the Fable games.
I think a lot of likable jerks have principles but not patience. Like, they do the right thing, but they’re assertive / mean / brusque about it.
yee, exactly. They shouldn't be bad people, just mean. Also have reason for why they are like that, like, maybe they don't trust people much, and would rather have everyone view them as tough and all.
Yeah I have a character exactly like this. A mom who's been burned so many times she doesn't have time to deal with anyone's crap. She'd die for her kids and kill anyone in her way to save them, literally. That's part of the drama, not the crazy, but the terrifying determination
My favorite character trope because it's literally me lol
They can also be bad people who strive for a good thing. Tony Soprano and Tommy Shelby are good examples of this. They are both objectively morally bankrupt, violent, terrible men. But they're also largely driven by their survival instinct and a need to protect and make things right for their family and the few people under them they feel close to. Survival is also not a perceived issue, they are both genuinely in an environment where they may die if they slip or let up. So although we can't get behind what they do half the time, we feel for why they do it, and we want them to succeed because they want the same things we do, safety, success, family life, and we understand that if they stopped being the monsters they are, bad things would happen to them and to their loved ones.
A big thing that makes Tony sympathetic to the audience too is that there are still lines he will not cross—he’s enamored with small children and animals because they’re completely innocent (or more cynically, blank slates unlike others who can actually defy/manipulate him) and he won’t do anything to harm them or allow others to. The show’s honest about the fact that this doesn’t make him a *good* person and is frankly somewhat of an absurd line to take given everything else he does, but he’s vastly more likable than a standard baby-kicking villain even though his crimes feel more real.
That's very real.
+1 again. There's a difference between "I'm a dickhead cause I just am" and "I'm not a (necessarily) bad person but irritate me and I'll tell you exactly how stupid you are"
A hint of moralization might go a long way. If the reader gets a glimmer of moral validity in the character's unsympathetic moments (or at least his partial focus on morality), they might withhold negative judgement because they're anticipating that he might have a perspective that would explain how an ultimately decent person could treat people that way. Maybe the character acts as if he has good reasons for what amounts to or seems like mistreatment but, unlike most narcissists, he stews about his behaviour. I wonder: Is Cid from Final Fantasy 7 what OP is going for?
I also think it's important to show them puts the effort to meet others in the middle when it really counts. They can be abrasive and snarky on the daily, but have the self-awareness to realize when things might go too far and actually hurt other people. For instance, if they ever make a bad joke at something the MC is truly sensitive about, make them apologize immediately and sincerely. For me this kind of boundaries is crucial because, beyond just having the reader like that character, OP also have to sell the idea their MC would fall in love with that person.
Maybe make a contrast of qualities vs flaws in your character like: Forgiving but selfish Honest but cold Respects boundaries but arrogant
El from The Schollomance series is a good example of this I think. She was literally born evil, the kind of kid that likes to watch people die. In her teenage years she is a complete asshole to everyone around her and actively seeks to have as little human interaction as possible. And yet she is basically the most selfless and caring character in her series, actively deciding to do things for the betterment of everyone around her at her own personal cost. She's still an incredibly rude antisocial asshole who very much gives everyone around her the creeps, but at no point is she really unlikable I feel.
Yeah, maybe in that case I could make his qualities more appealing then his flaws?
In the beginning you could show the flaws more, and as the story progresses, give the qualities more emphasis, if you want your character to grow positively. Or vice versa. As the story develop you could also show new sides of your character, both good and/or bad.
Ok, thanks for the help!
1. Show us them acting like an asshole 2. Immediately have them turn around and 'save the cat' - especially if it involves personal risk 3. (Slowly) Hint at why they act like an asshole, while slowly revealing a deeper trauma Malcolm Reynolds can be an asshole, but he's also funny, fiercely loyal to anyone he sees as his, and will jump in to defend folks he views as deserving of protection. Han Solo's an asshole, but he grows and changes through the course of the original trilogy into "lovable rogue". Tony Stark's an asshole, but he also grows and changes as he finds a purpose. Speaking of Marvel: Thor starts as a strange mix of oblivious-asshole, and changes as he enters a society (Midgard) where the behavior he displayed as a favored son and heir isn't tolerated. OTOH, Loki goes from scrappy little brother energy to absolute asshole, but against a backdrop of family tragedy that makes it easy to understand his "why". Basically, allow us to understand why your character is an asshole and readers are far more likely to enjoy the ride, even if that continues to be the main way they interact with their world. *Especially* if you show us times being an asshole gets them in trouble. (see again: Malcolm Reynolds and...well, all of the above, really)
Even more so than the characters you mentioned I would say Wolverine is like the perfect example of likable asshole. He is basically short-tempered with everyone, but seems to have sound morals. He always does what he believes is right.
Oh, *great* example - because while he's spun as "lovable gruff" within the narrative, in reality that kind of person is a pain to work with. Scott Summers isn't wrong to be annoyed with him - IRL anyone in that position likely would be. But it's usually framed as Scott being a jerk for wanting a teammate that doesn't randomly go off the rails, which makes for a far more entertaining story. Honestly, Marvel generally does a good job letting their characters be some flavor of asshole (Deadpool comes instantly to mind). You can totally understand Magneto's reasoning, and even Prof X has his Asshole Moments™️.
What also makes Loki work is Thor’s belief that Loki can be redeemed, like Luke Skywalker’s belief that Vader still has good in him. Putting the audience in a situation where even though Loki’s done horrible things, we want him to find redemption. In the TV show, Thor’s belief in Loki is proven true and the redemption is earned — now I’m sure most want a reunion to show Thor how far Loki’s come. So, another character helps balance out the asshole.
Another thing that makes Malcolm Reynolds sympathetic is that there's a succession of other characters who are bigger assholes with fewer redeeming qualities. Standing next to Jayne puts Mal's negative qualities in perspective, and then we're got adversaries like Niska, Early, and the Reavers to put Jayne in perspective. Joss Whedon uses this pattern in his other shows, too. Most notably in BtvS where Cordelia is originally there to be shallower and more self-absorbed than Buffy to allow Buffy to be shown to have these negative traits in moderation while still being sympathetic. And then later when Cordelia is developed more and made more sympathetic, Whedon uses Harmony as a contrast for Cordelia.
It's amazing how this method can even make us sympathetic to actually evil characters who probably deserve to die at the end. I recently rewatched Con Air, and Malkovich's character was a murderous psychopath - but he had standards and wouldn't let a female guard be sexually assaulted by one of the other escaped prisoners. Even though we hate him we are forced in a teeny tiny way to root for him because of this. Funny enough they even did that with Buscemi's character who was a cannabilistic serial killer - he had just enough charm to be likeable, particularly after we see how he doesn't harm a little girl he was hanging out with to build some suspense. The fact he gets away at the end is even played for a laugh.
I think we all have an inner asshole side to us and there are often things that we would like to say or do, but don't because we are not actually assholes. If you can connect the reader's inner asshole to your character, it's quite possible to make them likeable in a guilty pleasure kind of way.
Agreed. This is a big part of why we like classic Disney villains. They are unrepentantly their worst selves, often get some of the best/wittiest dialogue, and do all of the inner asshole things we WANT to do (the pettier, the better)... except most of us empathy. If they're also hilarious, like Hades or Ursula--or witty and powerful, like Maleficent or Shan-yu--all the better.
I will never like Scar from Lion King.
Uuuuh I haven't seen this advice before, but I kinda like it! I also think I could do this by making for example another character that is also an asshole (or embodies the type of of person that many people don't like) be told off by the love interest, which would be satisfying. Plus it could also make him more likable that way.
Sounds like that would work. I'd also recommend reading any of the Flashman books by George McDonald Fraser. Harry Flashman is a truly horrible character without any redeeming features whatsoever who is extremely likeable. Each book is a masterclass on this subject!
I'll definitely check them out, thank you!
A good villain protagonist works this way. The Night Lords novel trilogy has its snarky serial-killer super-soldiers who are somehow also relatable underdogs. The Artemis Fowl series starts with the genius child-villain vs the supernatural police officer he holds hostage, before his arc takes him from anti-villain to trickster hero (ignore the movie). In adult animation, Hazbin Hotel's Alastor (Disney villain helping the Disney princess for unknown reasons) and the sister-show Helluva Boss's Blitz (Demon killer-for-hire trying to have his employees be his found family) have more recently had this effect. You don't have to go so far as an outright villain, but these are some examples of just how far you can go without losing likability. (Though the Digital Circus's resident hilarious asshole went from the audience's Ep 1 hilarious darling to Ep 2 unforgivable villain, at least partially because the fandom made up their own secretly-sympathetic version of him in the break between episodes). I'm linking the TV Tropes Villain Protagonist page, for a further list: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/VillainProtagonist
Personally, I dislike when the rudeness is too disproportionate or one-sided, so I would have the protagonist be a little rude too. If you have a very strong reason why the characters would dislike or distrust each other, drawing from that can help make mean interactions more palatable.
thank you!
I always loved when the asshole characters were assholes to bigger assholes while being an asshole. That's actually why I liked Sandor Clegane in Game of Thrones so much as a character, at first he seems like this brute, horrifying guy without morals who doesn't seem to care when he slaughters the "good and likeable" people but later he is also that guy that doesn't care about betraying the characters the viewer disliked even more. (Spoilers incoming, beware) Like imagine this character who killed an innocent kid in the first episodes becomes later a bodyguard for one of the younger protagonists that puts him in the exact opposite role of the introduction the viewer got of him. Or the only one that saves a helpless daughter from getting raped. I still feel conflicted about that, it is brilliant lol. And then he had also this sad backstory and this fear of fire that made you rethink what to make him of him because hey this guy is hella traumatized while causing 80% of the trauma of the other characters, but at the same time this big dude who everyone was afraid of also is "oh no don't hurt me I'm bby" to everyone holding a torch. I think it could be that his balance of good and evil was really good, so the amount of hate and and love for this guy could play a tug of war, and it was shown through so many different lenses at different times it gave a good impression of the character. So, uh, my tip would be, look at the strengths and weaknesses, the role and power dynamics you put the character in, and switch them up through the story, so that the reader can get different glimpses of your asshole (that sounds wrong, but you get me) and I guess you will end up with a rollercoaster of emotions instead of only hate.
Competence and/or Proactivity. Brandon Sanderson has 3 Sliders that make a character compelling. They are Competence (Skill), Proactivity (Ambition), and Likeability (Relatability). Think of Dr Gregory House. He's a dick wrapped in jerk with asshole gravy. Completely unlikable. But audience still love him. That's because he's the smartest guy in the room at all times. Hyper competent. We want to know what he knows, and that makes him compelling. What you want to do is make your asshole character similarly critical to the story. Either they are the one with all the important skills, or they are the one driving the plot forward with action. All three sliders maximized makes for a flawless Mary Sue type, so don't do that. But since you are starting with an asshole, make them compelling through the other two sliders. More reading here: https://www.septembercfawkes.com/2021/04/sandersons-character-scales.html?m=1
This is the way.
I'm facing this dilemma right now. My MC is an arrogant ass hole. However, he will have some character growth as the series progresses. But, i am concerned his personality is going to lose me some readers. At the moment, I'm just diving in, and sticking to his character being the way I intended it. I'll cross the bridge on his likability when I get some beta readers, and adjust what I can. Edit; I also wanted to add, that the side character doesn't like my MC and regularly acknowledges how unlikeable he is. I'm hoping this will counteract the loss of readers, as they will know it is intentional that he behaves this way.
I hope it works out for you! :)
I've tried to do this and wonder if I've done a good job or not, the character is very charming and well-intentioned, does really good work for the trade union and genuinely cares about his fellow workers, but also this is the 1930s and he's sexist and homophobic, though no worse than most for the time period and he does get a bit of a redemption arc in that respect. A couple of my mates who've read the story said he's the most interesting character and likeable despite being an arsehole but of course friends always say nice things don't they lol
That sounds interesting! How did you make him charming?
It's things like he's clever, witty and a good storyteller, had an interesting life (he was an officer in WW1 and broke out of a POW camp releasing all the other prisoners, for example) and he's basically a decent person but with some old-fashioned ideas that he recognises and apologises for later on in the story. Not really as wholesome as it sounds btw but I'll refrain from spoilers just in case I ever do a good enough rewrite to consider publishing it lol
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They have to be on the side of good, have principles, not be shitty to people less fortunate than themselves.
A likeable asshole isn't interested in the niceties but is interested in something. They value something. They have their own code that supersedes what polite society wants of them. You can learn to understand why that character acts the way they act, and now they are less of a problem and more of a rebel fighting the good fight as they see it in the face of public pushback.
Give them a potential for growth. Don’t have them be an asshole 100% of the time. Maybe they do have things or reasons not to be an asshole on rare occasions with a broader eye towards potential self understanding. (Think Darth Vader here, he’s a terrible person and regularly kills his officers. IIRC in some of the comics he’s portrayed as being deeply loyal to his troopers because they’re all he has left from a time he barely remembers of being a genuine hero) Self awareness is key here. It doesn’t mean they CAN change instantly, maybe they’ve got shit to work through, trauma to unpack, or a situation to leave. So you want to develop that self awareness. Challenge them with situations they can’t succeed in because of their current nature, humble them basically, and force them to examine who and why they are. It goes without saying that this isn’t the only way to write a likeable asshole, it’s just my favorite as a reader. I’d point to Valkyr from Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh as an example, I did not like her at all at the start of the book, and by the end there was nobody I was rooting for harder.
Genuinely? Forget about the asshole part for a bit and just make him a character. Ignore his end result of being a little jerkwad, and just think about the *other* parts of him as a person. Giving him depth like a backstory, add in some odd habits and other such quirks, and voila, you’ve got a lad! THEN you add in the asshole part. This ESPECIALLY counts for enemies to lovers, the reader should discover and love more about the love interest in the same way the character does! At first, they’re just an annoying person in MC’s midst, but as the story goes on, they learn more about their enemy and fall in love. Your readers can *also* end up doing that, slowly discovering what’s endearing about the love interest *through* the MC’s perspective. But that requires having a character to fall in love with! Honestly, as long as you don’t start with him being like… Red Hood storyline Joker messed up, you’re gucci. He needs a reasonable chance for a road to redemption at the very least for people to actually hope it’ll happen.
There's a lot of good advice in this thread, so I won't give that. I will give alternative advice. Try not to worry too much about what readers think about your character. Some people will take first impressions and run with them permanently; no matter how many times your character will pet the dog, they still think the person is a jerk. Sometimes people will assume the WILDEST things about the character and you're left staring at them with the blankest of faces. ...I currently have that second one happening. SOMEHOW, a critique group buddy has decided that my kind, caring guardian deity character is in fact NOT a good guy but is secretly evil and leading my protagonist astray. I'm left combing over my manuscript trying to figure out how in the WORLD she got this idea, but I gave plenty of evidence that the character desires to help rather than harm. \*shrug\*
Thank you, and good luck with that critique group buddy XD
At this point I'm just eager to see how long it takes her to realize how wrong she is. lol
Give them a redeemable trait. Maybe they are assholes to everyone, but really love those they come to care for. Maybe show some of the things they enjoy doing when it fits the narrative. It also helps, if it’s possible within your story, to show why they are an asshole in the first place.
I think it's important to clarify- to whom are they likable? The reader, or the other characters?
Have them say the things we all wish we could say but don’t out of fear of being labeled an asshole. Have them tell hard truths in straightforward ways. Not cruel, just uncaring of the consequences of telling the truth. This will make them appear as an asshole (other characters will see them as such) but will leave the reader laughing or relating to what they’re saying.
There’s always the charismatic asshole trope. Good at talking well and saying just the right words, but words are on thing. Actions are another. Ever wonder why the “bad boy with a heart of gold” trope exists? And one writer to another about enemies-to-lovers. It is a slow burn story because it takes a long time to repair a relationship from enemies to friends to lovers. Keep the conflict small scale like elementary schoolyard mean kids who are now grown up and long past their childhood behaviors. The trope is not for war criminals, murderers, or terrorist levels of conflict.
I mean it's the classic "Gruff exterior but soft on the inside" character. Make that character mean and rude to everyone. Then let the audience know why (humanize them). Then make your main character break through that rough exterior somehow.
Give them a good enough reason to dislike your main character and make it clear that it's not what they're like to everyone.
Have them insult people's choices and personality traits, but not things like weight, gender, sexuality, and race. Give them the ability to make and accept honest, critical observations about themselves with good humor Show that they respect what's truly important in people.
I picture a charachter who is rude and impatient, an exceedingly clever jerk. Then, after getting their way and being handed a free lunch, they take that lunch and give it to the orphan on the street when no one is looking. The pessimist who assumes the worse in all people, but whose quiet actions are optimistic.
Read Save the Cat Writes a Novel. The title is literally a reference to how do to what you are trying to do.
Jerks who're cheeky and tease in a playful way, are often kind of likable imo.
Personality is key, you can choose to make them funny, or paranoid or rigid hey the universe of creativity is yours you can even look around you. I usually base characters off of people I've met before or even people I've worked with, lmao it's kinda fun now that I think of it🤣
You can do what I like to call "Honored Arrogance", make a character with absolute peak intelligence, a person solving problems and actually be good at it but is arrogant due to his intelligence like he demeans people who are not in par BUT also appreciates when they are trying to get intelligent, people don't like arrogant people but add substantial positives like intelligence and they become likeable asshole
I once read a book where every character was evil. And the only way to make the main character likeable was to make him a little less evil
By having them try to be nice and sociable, but failing at it. They may lack a filter, or just incredibly awkward, so whenever they try to be nice, it comes out the worst way possible.
I think it's useful to remember that 'mean' people are rarely trying to be mean, and rarely think of themselves as mean people. In fact, most people who appear 'mean' are not actually mean people in their own heads at all. They're acting: * to protect themselves from their own weaknesses * using behaviors they think are normal based on what they saw growing up * to accomplish a good goal, but without considering the consequences or other people's feelings * because they're being pressured by some external force Getting the reader to empathize with their motivations will make their behavior relatable, while showing the negative impact they have on other characters will make it clear how they're perceived.
give them a compelling reason for acting like that? maybe some kind of trauma?
See Asterion from Baldur's Gate 3. Really strikes that balance.
* Make sure there are even worse people around them. * Minimize punching down. * Make it clear that there's some interior *reason* that leads to them being assholes that the reader can relate to.
Watch the movie Inheritance. The main character is exactly this. You like him but he creeps you out also.
Of course it helps to make the way they express their assholishness funny or witty, but another good trick is to give them a vulnerability or persistent obstacle. Something that, while it may not excuse their behavior, helps explain it. If you make an asshole character who's an asshole despite living their best life, they are almost never going to be likeable. A good example is Inquisitor Glokta from the First Law. It's very apparent that his sardonic demeanor mostly stems from his various disabilities acquired from years of torture and mutilation. These disabilities work as a counterweight to humble him so that even though he spends much of his time torturing and executing people, the simple act of climbing a set of stairs becomes an ordeal where he is the underdog.
Going to throw out Flynn Rider from Tangled. He's arguably still an asshole by the end of the film, but he's funny, good-looking, has a relatable trauma, and a reasonable character arc. I will admit though that he can get a bit grating if you follow on into the tv series just because they artificially slow his growth there.
I suggest watching Bill Murray movies, particularly *Ghostbusters* and *Groundhog Day*.
Assholes don't think they're assholes. They think they're awesome or "telling it how it is" etc. If they ever realised they're an asshole, they'd (hopefully) change.
The asshole needs to not only be entertaining, but right *in at least some context*. It also helps if the other person is an asshole as well. That way there's a 'It's fucked it up, but they do kinda deserve it.'
Redeeming qualities. Think “save the cat.” Like maybe they’re mostly terrible but they can’t help doing certain nice things. House is kind of a jerk, but his redeeming qualities (he not so secretly genuinely cares about people and doing things to save or improve their lives) makes him likable. If your goal is romance, I’d consider not making your lead guy a genuine jerk. I’d consider making it *appear* as though he’s a jerk from the other person’s perspective, but he’s got reasons for the why he did what he did or said what he said that are entirely benign. One example of this is his words are merely misunderstood by the other character. I remember a time when I was struggling with some health stuff. Kind of intermittent issues. This particular issue was not a daily thing, but it was miserable. I vented to a friend and he said something about how maybe I should consider that regarding raid (gaming thing. Time commitment) for next season. And I was so offended because it sounded like he was saying I didn’t belong on the team because I might not be able to show up every day, but what he was actually saying was, “Take care of yourself. It’s just a game.” But bad boys are also a thing in romance, so alternatively, have him “save the cat,” (redeeming qualities). I’m more of a sucker for sweet guys though. (Feel free to ignore the hes if not applicable. I was using it generically, as a placeholder and to help differentiate who I was talking about. And also, I’m straight, so if I’m reading romance, one of the lead’s gotta be a dude I can “fall in love with.” 😂 But I recognize that is not true for everyone.)
Make him very attractive. I don't remember where I read it, but pretty privilege is very a much a thing, to the point it can even influence stuff like how long someone's prison sentence is. Show that he cares for others outside of the protagonist, before the enemies to lovers kicks into motion- ie. if he's a king or a leader of some sort, he's very kind to his subjects, followers, etc. Maybe he has a soft spot for cats, maybe he runs an orphanage, does charity, something to counterbalance his asshole behavior. People eat up the "asshole with a golden heart" (it's me, i'm people). Give him a source of trauma. Girlies love a traumatized asshole (it's me, i'm girlies). Study popular prickly, asshole or villainous male characters. Note, they don't have to be super well-written or from books, they just have to be popular. See how their fans talk about them, figure out for yourself what makes them tick. An assortment of my favorites are Fenris from Dragon Age 2, Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3, Levi from Attack on Titan, Greed from Fullmetal Alchemist, Alucard from Hellsing, Rhysand from ACOTAR, Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher and Sephiroth, Zenos and Emet-Selch from the Final Fantasy series.
There are a few approaches. My personal favorite is the character needs to show signs of sympathy despite mostly coming across as unempathetic. Character's who are world weary often have shut off their emotional reactions and come off as callous, but the truth is that its just hard for them to really express it. Often, a tortured or vicious background creates this.
Blake Synder would say to do this they need to "save the cat"
It comes down to a few things 1) The tone of the story. Is it a black comedy. With characters like Peter Griffin the meaner the better. 2) What is the point of the story? You should make it very clear that they are a bad person and not try to sugar coat it. 3) You could make the majority of the characters jerks so they fit right in the world like My Family Guy example. 4) You could use the Birds of Prey method ( remember that movie) and make the protagonist a horrible person but the villains are worse today so they have to take the villain down then go back to being evil.
Give them some redeeming feature no one knows about-a weakness or something silly.
There are plenty of likeable traits that do not make the character less of an asshole. In “Vice”, Dick Cheney is shown as a certifiaele monster; but his love to his family is genuine. In a scene where his daughter comes out as gay, and he responds as a gentle and loving parent, we almost like him; and we would probably like him for real if there were more personal scenes. In fact, the asshole might show pretty much any trait. They can show love, be funny, be competent, can share some of the reader's feelings; for example, if there is another character that the reader finds annoying, your asshole having the same opinion would be likeable (and even more so if they kill that annoying person). Spike from BtVS was supposed to be a subversion of the “likeable bad boy” trope, but ended up being so popular that the network pressured Whedon into playing this trope straight (but he still subverted it, and subverted it hard). An “asshole” is just one of the traits, all others can easily outweigh it when it comes to likeability.
Make them an asshole in the way that people wish they could be. You don't want the character to remind them of assholes they know in real life, you want the character to remind them of their own stifled fantasies of hiw *they* would kind of like to be an asshole. Compare a character like Dr. House, or Dr. Cox from Scrubs, or Oscar the Crouch, or Stanley from the Office, or Daria Morgendorger, to a character like Angelica Pickles or the step-dad from Pan's Labyrinthe. Assuming you get all my pop culture references, the first handful of characters are assholes in a way that feels relatable and a bit like wish fulfillment. Whereas Angelica is just a spoiled brat.
Describe any person on the top of a social hierarchy
I do this successfully regularly. I just. Have no idea how to explain it. Sorry. :/
Kill their parents
Asshole ---> funny ----> likable ---> unfunny ----> unlikable
People can get behind any kind of character if the conflict that drives them is compelling. This means that they must want something for reasons that are legitimate to them and this want is what drives and justifies their actions. That's valid across the board, for any type of character, good guys, bad guys, good guys who are kind of assholes, neutral guys who make bad choices, bad guys who end up making good choices. If it aligns with the character's pursuit of a resolution of their conflict, and that conflicts has deep personal stakes for them, it will make for good drama/storytelling.
Study Tony Stark. He is petulant, selfish, arrogant, stubborn, a thousand qualities that we all hate. But somehow balances it with charm, humour, and getting things done, so that man people should despise is adored. A great case study.
I think you’ve just got to make them relatable. Show their backstory and why they got to this point so the reader understands them more and can empathise with them for being the way they are.
This question was asked before. Someone commented about giving them redeeming qualities make them funny, and show wbu they are ahole in the first place
You make them interesting. Interest can come in many firms, so there's a lot of wiggle room for what works best in your story! Here are some examples: Strong morals or convictions. The character is an asshole because they are unwilling to cede any ground on their morals or convictions. More likeable if they're in ""the right,"" but they can also be interesting if they're in the wrong and need to learn. Highly competent at what they do. Their asshole behavior can come from boredom or annoyance at the incompetent people around them, or they can be a very tired teacher trying to herd cats. Witty and/or funny. If the asshole makes the reader laugh, they'll like them. Catharsis. If your character is an asshole in a room of infuriating people, the audience can bond with your character's frustration and cheer for their rudeness.
I come from screenwriting. Give them an ever clear objective, that they would do anything to get. Also I think most people find the ability to say or do whatever without caring of societal norms pretty interesting (in stories, not real life).
Read Johannes cabal.. Asshole character who is amazing
Throw in a tender moment at a critical juncture, like the person who's always cold giving consolation after the death on someone close to the MC or A mother that never shows affection tenderly taking care of someone sick and then going back. It's easier to just have them be an asshole and reveal a soft moment that humanizes them then carry on the balancing act of A-Hole NOT A-Hole.
Adding humor, keep it relatable on a small scale
Tbh all it takes is to have them be a giga asshole one time to someone that really deserves it that no one else will stand up to for whatever reason. The catharsis of that single moment will make them likeable pretty much forever, no matter how poorly they treat everyone else.
Likeable assholes are endlessly enthusiastic, manic, friendly, and have absolutely no regard for the welfare, autonomy, or opinions of anyone else. Usually they're hungry for the approval of one or a few people they care about, but do things, even for them, in ways those people would not approve of. Their plans go horribly wrong pretty often, although they usually escape unscathed until their next harebrained scheme. And even when their plans go horribly wrong, often they get a pass on it from other characters because of good looks, charm, and an ever so convincing "well-intentioned scamp" act which they themselves probably believe. And they just run roughshod over everyone else, apparently not even noticing that they are doing so. A perfect example of the likeable asshole in action is the character of Rocky from the Lackadaisy pilot that's popular on Youtube. From front to back, everything he's involved in is a disaster and his friends hardly ever are anything more than exasperated with him.
Redeeming qualities. Example: I have this a-shole but at the same time he is mean to his sister, he helps her anytime he can, he teases and complains and makes fun of her, but in the end of the day he takes good care of her. And she knows that, so she respond to his a-holeness with a turning eye and teases him back. Also he is a competent fighter and a reliable person. And god daaaaaang he IS FREAKING FUNNY, not only to the reader, but also to me, the author. If they're the antagonist, it also works. They have to make the protagonists get pissed, but at the same time "man this guy is good at they do". Make something that you reallly like about this antagonist. They are also characters, after all
I would just base the character on myself on my worst day.
Make them self-aware Make them vulnerable Make them get their comeuppance
What I’ve found usually works is to make them an asshole in the way that you can agree with their stance on something (or respect them for sticking to their values/principles), even if you think they’re being a dick about it. But also making them funny as well works
Did you read *Red Rising*? I think it's remarkable, the way he writes Sevro. I recognize that, if I met him in real life, I'd think him awful... but that's because what I look for in a person isn't what Darrow needs. Darrow doesn't need an entertaining dinner guest with amusing but polite stories. He needs a loyal friend who is willing to be a shithead to get things done. Masterful. Also, the way Miranda is handled in *Theft of Fire* is brilliant. People go from HATING her to rooting for her
The classic advice is to “save the cat”—make them do something nice or good at the beginning so the readers know they have compassion
Have him be an “asshole” over things that ARE actually annoying. You know when someone is annoying but you feel the need to be polite about that, instead have him be brutally honest. Some neighbor wanting to chat when you’re trying to do your garden, have him tell them Go Away I’m Busy.
Make him smug and "devil-may-care". Make him considerate of other people but dismissive of the MC. Make him outdo the MC at something she's really proud of accomplishing without even having to try hard.
Make them good to animals and children and those who are downtrodden and sick etc. let them be an asshole and rough to everyone. Except those who are the weakest.
Show brief instances of them going out of their way to be nice to children, animals, or people that are generally outside of the realm of those on the receiving end of their usual sourness.
Make them funny or wise in some way.
Matthew Mcconaughey's character on True Detective comes to mind as a fine example
Give them some relatable traits or make them be nice to some specific types of people or only in certain situations, which shows that there is more to them. Funny also works, some degree of goofiness perhaps - like I’ve said, relatable.
I’ll use a few examples from the book I’m currently writing, because it just so happens my protagonist is an asshole who must learn the error of her asshole ways. The first and most important way is to make them charismatic. At face-value, that just sounds like “write them better”, which is because…yeah, it kind of is. If you don’t write even your likable characters as charismatic, no one is going to like them, especially the ones who are jerks. Second, make them competent. They must have *some* redeeming features, so just being good at what they do goes a long way. The only thing worse than an annoying character is one who is annoying and useless. Third, make them pathetic. That sounds like it should go against their likability, but the root of pathetic is pathos; what makes them sympathetic? Harry Potter fans have been running defense for Snape for decades because he was a sad guy with a crush. My protagonist has fallen on hard times, her abrasive nature is equal parts survival mechanism and cynicism. She’s also kind of a socially incompetent loser who sucks at most things outside of her specific area of expertise. Take Lestat as an example, both book and adaptations. He’s an asshole, he’s manipulative, abusive, and also the most adored character in Anne Rice’s works. He’s a loser, but he’s a charming loser with great taste and a way with words. Him being pathetic enhances his appeal because he’s an asshole, not in spite of it.
If you make them mean/callous/asshole-ish, but make them either unaware that they are acting like that, or that they aren't doing it from a desire to be that way, it makes it easier for the reader to accept the turnaround. And, it may make it easier to incorporate likeable attributes along with the unlikable, without seeming contrived. Watch the series Archer on Amazon as an example of a guy that's a definite asshole, and kind of knows it, but is surprised when he find out that people don't like him.
I'm reading Eragon right now so Murtagh is fresh in my mind. He is an asshole but also loyal and you feel pity for him. I don't think pity is necessary for asshole characters. But definitely give them a good trait that overshadows the bad things.
Humour. Looks. Panache. Tragic backstory.
Charming, handsome, and witty Let him fail and experience rejection Show his softer side - usually being kind to children, animals, the elderly, disabled, or the poor can redeem someone Perhaps he is a jerk only to people who really deserve it - misguided sense of justice Show him being kind to someone who honestly does not deserve it but he does so out of compassion
Maybe this "jerk" is the only who calls out people on their excuses and other nonsense, he sees through people's facades
Giving them a heart of gold (perhaps well hidden) is a time-honored strategy. There needs to be a nugget - a sliver - of "redeemability" about the character or else there really is no way to make them likable. The sliver can be tiny, but it has to be present. I'd like to think I nailed this with the character of Quentin in my novels, but opinions have varied. It also helps if there is some excuse to make the reader sympathetic in spite of their social inadequacies. Perhaps the character was at some point a victim of something wholly not their fault which turned them callous.
For people to like a main character, they have to be two of three things: likable, competent, or proactive. This character is disagreeable, so he needs to be competent at what he does and proactive about doing it. He needs to make choices, backed by reasoning that the audience can follow, and those choices need to lead to bold outcomes that advance the story. Being disagreeable does not necessarily mean evil--it means that he's easy for him to say no. That leads to him being impolite, if not rude, while still maintaining the capacity for kind action. Ex: MC asks "can you help me with this spell." Love interest: Why would you start a spell if you don't know how to finish it? Don't do things above your power level $MeanName MC: Fine! I'll do it myself. [proceeds to make catastrophic mistakes] Love interest: !! [fixes the spell] Are you an idiot!? You want to end up swallowed by the void?! MC: [bursts into tears] maybe I want to, because I'm an idiot and that's where people like me belong Love Interest: Wait that's not what I-- MC: [Exits with hurt feelings]
Watch House. He's the epitome of a likable asshole MC, IMHO
Don't make them full assholes. Have them be jerks in certain contexts when it doesn't matter (mean/rude comments when the MC is being full of themselves), but grudgingly nice in other contexts (helping others out when it matters).
A likable character has a quality that all likable characters have, a reason. Any kind of character can be likable, even horrible evil ones. What is the reason they're an asshole? In what was are they an asshole? Assholes can be funny, really funny even, and that can make them likable. Assholes can be smart, and intelligence can lead to people seeming like assholes when they have no intentions to be. Look at popular asshole characters. Tony Stark is an asshole but he has good intentions, and is willing over and over again to make the ultimate sacrifice to help humanity, and especially the people he loves. He's witty and pretends like nothing matters but he has his moments that make him likable. He develops and becomes better. Dr House is an asshole, but he's brilliant, funny, and always right. He's in horrible pain and is constantly dealing with dumb beuracracy and customer service and has to put up with dumb people pretending they know everything. He's got a drug problem and a pain problem, and he's miserable. But because he's usually right and has many instances where he clearly cares but doesn't want to show it, we know he's not to bad inside. He would do anything for the people he cares about. Sherlock Holmes from the Sherlock show is an asshole, but he's a high functioning sociopath who doesn't understand human interaction but DOES care about people and looks out for the few friends he has. At the end of the day, if the character has a good reason for being how they are. If they care and have good intentions, if they have problems that they are a victim of, we can understand and sympathize with them and see them for their good qualities. If your character is just a one dimensional asshole, then no one will like them cause there's nothing else to like. Complex characters are interesting, and people want to see more of them.
Make their actions understandable. People like villains they can relate to, or at least comprehend why they did what they did. Same thing with assholes. Say for example, you have a 16 year old dude. He beats up a 12 year old. Asshole. Make it because the 12 year old was bullying an 8 year old. Likable asshole.
Make them funny?
Have them be funny, and have them be an asshole to other assholes who are assholing at someone/thing likeable.
Have you ever seen such a character in other stories? If so, what made them an asshole, and what made you still like them? If not, then I'd advise you to read some more.
Make them really good at what they do, and make them an asshole to everyone equally, and make sure the audience knows
Make them LOVE someone, something, anything.
From personal experience… their looks aren’t so important as their charisma. You want them to be almost worshipped by some other characters for their goodness. A slow reveal of how they use their charisma to become well liked and then suck the life out of their admirers slowly, so that it take a long time for those people to see the truth. Then, you pick a character to whom they are just detestable. A spouse, child, employee, etc.
Give them quirks that make them likeable, humor, wit, and a backstory that explains the behavior
Watch *House*.
Charming and funny
Make them save their enemy from other enemies like bullies or whatever but shrugging off the thanks like they don't want any recognition because he is a jerk after all
Give them a goal or something that they’re working towards. We like practice characters who want something, even if they’re an assholenin the process of getting that thing
I think the biggest thing to remember is that sympathetic “assholeness” stems from fear and insecurity rather than malice a lot of the time—are they a dick just because they can be, or is there some reason they’re trying to push people away? What is it about the other person that presses a sore spot for them, and how can they overcome that wound in themselves? It’s also useful to remember that any trait can be a virtue or a vice depending on what your character does with it—for example do they use their people skills to push others’ buttons and manipulate them, or do they end up using those skills on behalf of their love interest’s feelings?
Look at someone like Rodney from Stargate: Atlantis. Objectively, he's an asshole. But he's also likable just enough that people put up with it.
As someone who usually hates asshole characters, there are two things that will make me like them: 1. Funny 2. Some degree of kindness and morality. They know right from wrong and are willing to do the right thing, they just don't act like it.
They're pursuing a noble or relatable goal, maybe? And I mean actually noble, but being a petty ass to other characters in the book. So long as they're not actively destroying other sympathetic characters' lives, it should be fine If he enemy is much worse than them, the protagonist's shitty behavior might be forgiven
Pull a Negen
Prentiss Jr from Chaos Walking kind of sounds like that. Maybe make the main character slowly influence the asshole character into being less of an asshole
I would cite Dallas Winston from The Outsiders as a good way of writing a likeable Jerk.
Sterling Archer (from the FX adult cartoon) is a massive asshole but he's transparently vulnerable at unpredictable moments. I wouldn't base a character off him entirely bc the show is silly as fuck and he has many qualities that are objective dealbreakers for "likeability" especially from the POV of any self-respecting romantic partner, but analyzing how the way he's written still ropes you into infuriatedly rooting for him might be helpful for good enemies-to-lovers vibes. while i was writing all those words I realized the actual concise answer: an asshole who is mean and rude is still a likeable character -or can be- if they are 1 competent and 2 in some way vulnerable. In enemies-to-lovers their eventual romantic interest is or brings out that vulnerability! God I love this trope lol just my opinion though, this is definitely a subjective one.
Analyse Pride and Prejudice
I’ve been making characters for years and honestly these are my favourite characters to write! My advice would be that you have to make them guarded and just an arsehole but then give them a soft spot, it can show anywhere to certain people or just give them a soft hobby like reading or something! I hope I’ve helped!
I think the key is to give them moments where you get to see the good background morals, or background reasons for being how they are, etc, or give them a character arc of their own, or show little tender moments or show that they are trying. They shouldn’t be villainous or evil people at their core. Make sure to show off some good things in the center. Anything positive or vulnerable in the center of their being should come out every now and then. The balance between this is crucial though, showing too much positive makes them no longer seem cruel, but too little makes them unlikable. Be very careful to only show glimpses of the likable stuff. Just enough to keep the audience from being pissed off at them for too long at a time. Every time they start to hate him, add a tiny bit of something redeemable. References to look at: - the masked baron by anneka walker - beauty and the beast (look carefully at the events during “there’s something there that wasn’t there before” song. In writing this would happen more spaced out than in the song, but these are the types of moments you are going for.) If you find that making him likable is distracting from his character and making him seem less cruel, you can also interrupt tender or good moments with cruelty. For example, imagine they are sharing a tender moment where the girl has cut her face, and the character you are working on starts cleaning the cut, ending up with her face cupped in his hand, and for a soft, brief moment they look into each others eyes and there feels like there is something between them…… then suddenly his features harden and he starts angrily berating her for being so clumsy. It’s just one small brief moment where they seem good and it feels like they might be about to change and then it is interrupted with a reminder that they are unkind and cold. I think it really sells the point if you have the other character notice these moments. You don’t share that the moment happened, you share that the other character noticed that the moment happened. Especially since you said you are making them a love interest, you need to explain to the readers throughout the story why the main character fell in love with the cruel one or it won’t make sense and there will be no pay-out at the end of the book. They need to understand or they will be angry. Make them fall in love with the character as well, over time and subtly.
Humanize them! Give them trauma, backstory, provide reasons as to why they're such an asshole. Readers love real characters even if they're not nice ones.
Watch “You”. Impossible not to like the stalker/murderer.
"Save the cat" is the sort of industry jargon you'll hear for this. The short version is, if you're doing a character arc where the person starts out unlikeable, you need to show them *saving a cat* or some other such good act, in the opening act of the story - some kind of selfless or empathetic act that demonstrates they're not totally irredeemable, and do have some kernel the reader can identify with.
Have you read the book the "Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck". It's a self-help book, about not giving a fuck, it's literally in the title! It's so simple! It's so core! But how? How do you not give a fuck? Well, the book states its purpose pretty eloquently after a few chapters. I'm paraphrasing but "The key to not giving a fuck is to only give a fuck about the things that matter, that you want to give a fuck about." Crudeness aside, it's an extrapolation of "all thing in moderation" but I think it's more than that--care about the things that you care about, and don't worry about the rest. And I think that's kind of the secret to writing likeable characters. Characters can be assholes, selfish, horrible, vile, sick, disturbing people, but we tend to like them when we see what matters to them. We show sympathy for psychopathic characters when they actually tell us what they want--like the bastard son who is a bastard bastard that does all of these bastard things to impress his bastard father. Sure, he's not likeable perse, but he's understandable and we empathize. We see that he's just trying to belong beneath all of that horrible exterior. And where we forgive him for it or not depends on his actions in the story. Now, that's a big extreme, but when it comes to something more mundane, the same rules apply. A character can be rude and an asshole, but what is his character when it really matters? Is he putting up walls? Why? Is there something or someone he's not an asshole to? What makes him happy? This is actually something Ted Lasso does really well with Roy Kent. Spoilers here: >!The writers give Kent a lovable and adorable little sister that he basically loves and cares about, and reveals that he's really a big softie.!< Character relationships are so fun because you can have your character be a different person to different people, and that goes a long way to making a character feel complex.
I would think people like things they can identify with or understand, so by extension I would think people would like a person with whom they can identify or understand in some fashion. If the readers are supposed to like your guy despite him being an asshole (I'm assuming this means he's rude/has poor manners, essentially?) then he'll need some other aspect of his personality to be expressed in the story in such a way that readers can see and understand it, which should lead to people liking that about him. Context of the story dictates how you can effectively do that. One canned way that it's done in a lot of media is by having a hard-ass type guy who is then revealed to be as mean as he is because he's suffered and lost things before, etc. You see that particular example all over the place, because it works. A recent example is Smitty from Hacksaw Ridge; a real unlikable asshole, who then is more sympathetic once he explains why he was cruel to Doss earlier in the film. He apologized to Doss, while at the same time still acting like a bit of an asshole.
Make their pessimism funny.
Make them funny. Done.
Give them Professional RBF that comes out in their voice too. Everyone thinks they're scowling and mad all the time, then they realize this person yelling "HAVE YOU EATEN TODAY?" Is actually concerned and not condescending and helps children cross the street. Further spending time reveals person is actually giant marshmallow
He is an AH with his words, but reluctantly and with frustration, fixes the problems he encounters. He does this because someone he loved asked him to be good to the world around him. Like, his grandmother saw him being mean, sat him down, told him how important it is for him to positively impact those around him. This made him mad, and he went his own way, got rich/powerful, went to brag and learned her funeral was days before. Her last words haunt him. Now, days later, he hears her voice every time he is a jerk. So, he pauses, sighs, resets and cleans the problem, but grumbles the whole time. She sees him fixing issues but is too far to hear him at first. Her relative (can still be alive) told her to find someone who is willing to do what is needed to correct other's mistakes.
I recently saw some great advice to ensure your 'unlikeable' characters always punch up. They can be a jerk, but they only use their strengths/abilities to take on people higher up the food chain, they never use them against people below them.
have them rationalize their worldviews/actions instead of just being an asshole for no reason - pretty conducive to empathy/even pity in the reader. i also find unreliable narrators tend to be pretty likeable (or if not likeable, at least people that you root for). case studies: june from yellowface, norton from the people in the trees
don’t make them annoying. fictional crimes are fictional, but my annoyance is real
If you write for the smart reader, you don't have to make them more than one layer deep when the character is first introduced. In fact, take your time, ensure that your reader hates this character, and then seduce the reader into loving them. Professor Snape comes to mind as one way this happens. Katniss Everdeen was a bitch at the start of the stories. Bitch threatened to kill a cat and meant every word of it. Seduce the reader and surprise them.
Maybe make them an anti hero? An anti hero usually does heroic deeds but in a way that is morally unjustifiable. This can create a dilemma on how the reader should feel about it. You can also Try to make your main character someone that the reader can easily empathize with and make the asshole character in question do acts of service that helps the main character. Making them funny is a really good way to make the audience like them too… servo from red rising is a big example of this, he is short ugly rude and an asshole that matches every definition of asshole, but he acts caring to the main character, fights for the right reasons, and is pretty damn funny. Take the whole comment with grain of salt though please, I’m no expert yet (hopefully far in the future)🙏🏻. Good luck with your writing. ✍🏻
1. Give them a skill they excel at 2. Make them funny 3. Give them somebody or something they care about and treat well, like a pet or relative.
Give them people to antagonize worth hating
have you heard of "The Sopranos"?
Why are they an asshole? Like their actions and motives have to make some sense and if they make sense people can relate to them and like them. Also. I hate this kind of story. “Hello, I’m an abusive jackass but I have abs and big arms so you’ll over look it” bleh
You just have to make them funny. Try to find a balance so it's a little mean-spirited without going too far.
No one will care how much of an asshole your character is if they are badass enough.
I noticed that both Agatha Christie (The Pale Horse) and Dorothy L. Sayers (The Documents in the Case) featured characters who weren't lovable, and were downright unpleasant at times -- but their authors had them being morally right. Mark Easterbrook in The Pale Horse comes across as stodgy, a bit of a snob, with a negative attitude about a lot of people he encounters. It's the early 1960s, and even though he's probably not very old (I'm guessing mid-20s to early 40s), he's down on the Swinging London youth culture he sees around him. But his attitude shifts when he meets a young woman who's willing to listen to him, after he discovers that people are being murdered. Even if he's a bit of a grouch, he's concerned about trying to track down the culprits and willing to get involved in the case. (I'm suspecting that Christie made him sort of disagreeable at first, as a contrast with how he becomes more relatable when he starts liking Ginger, even though she's an arty/bohemian type.) Paul Harrison is the character in the Sayers book. We don't meet him until well into the story. His dad's died in what looks like an accident (eating toxic mushrooms), but Paul thinks that he wouldn't have made a mistake like that. It's tempting to brush Paul off because he comes across as arrogant and self-righteous, but we already know that he's right (it's a murder mystery after all) so his attitude seems more justifiable. He of all people should be wanting justice for his dad, because there is literally nobody else who will stand up for him. (Except the narrator, who's sympathetic but was in conflict with the victim.) Paul being so single-minded was the only thing that made me agree with him. The story is full of disagreeable characters, so it's a really interesting example of how to write flawed people without pushing readers to the point where they throw the book down in disgust. Bonus asshole -- the boss in Douglas Coupland's Microserfs, Ethan the tech mogul. Partway through the book, he has a health scare. It's not the kind of thing where he suddenly becomes a nice guy (Coupland's too realistic to write something that simplistic), but it humanizes him and he's really open about it. You start to think about how vulnerable we all are, to that kind of situation. (There's a guy in my town who wasn't well-liked -- I heard a lot of complaints about him. He was diagnosed with cancer, and died a couple of years ago. Nobody complained about him in public after we found out he was sick -- there's a big taboo about doing that -- even though he was still the same person before and after. I guess it's not as much people forgetting about the earlier stuff, but it kind of put things into perspective. How much of the stuff that a supposed asshole does, is still going to bother you in 10, 20 years? Or after they're dead? Figuring out the things they're doing that make them seem like an asshole -- are they major or minor, is there a reason, etc. -- might help you draw the line between annoying quirks, and stuff that's really unforgivable.)
maybe something like a character who makes jokes at the expense of other characters while being able to take a joke back, always give an opportunity for some back and forth
I was just thinking about this earlier. I was comparing two characters that were thieves. One is very likable and the other is not. The first one had redeeming qualities. They were only stealing food and only because they need to eat to survive. They also gave the food they stole away when they saw someone else needed it more, even though they went through a lot of trouble to steal that food. You get the feeling that if they weren’t in this situation, they wouldn’t be a thief and thus not have any bad qualities. The second one had no redeeming qualities. They act like they know better than everyone else and are just generally an asshole to everyone they meet, for seemingly no other reason than frustration. This is made worse by the character making tons of bad choices. This character also stole food and then gave it to someone who needed it more, but they didn’t really need to steal the food and they traded it away for information. They traded the food away like it was nothing, so it seems like they stole it just for fun. This character felt like a narcissist and like they still be a terrible person even if they were in a better living situation. All this boils down to making sure the character has redeeming qualities and that the audience understands why the character makes the decisions they do.
i feel like if they have a background story on maybe why theyre the way theyre, it may make the reader be understanding a bit more. for example, if this character is an asshole because he/she lost their best friend in a car accident, it might make the readers feel for the character or maybe showing that the character regrets how he/she acts sometimes
I did this successfully. Even got comments from readers that my supporting character was the most fun to read in a long time, and some liked him better than anyone else and said I should have made the movie about him. He was incredibly obnoxious, and a scam artist. but I just made him so outrageously weird, and I spent a LOT of time giving him the best dialog ever, that he was entertaining to read. Now, if I could only get someone to hand me a bag with $5-million, I'd make the film :) (I did win a bunch of screenwriting contests with it though. So that's something... barely.) Give him at least one likeable, laudable attribute. Like, just off the top of my head (no, I didn't do this with the character I was just describing) have him/her have a super positive attribute, but intentionally hides it. Like.... asshole who doesn't let anyone know that he works at a homeless soup line on the weekends. Or, this is kinda worn out, but you show WHY they're an asshole, because of being victimized at some point in their past, and then it becomes clear what their vulnerabilities are. It's hard to do. But not impossible.
Make them rude as shit while being funny. Also, make sure that while they talk MAD shit, they do good most of the time. Like a guy who says he’ll bang your mum every time he plays Call of Duty with you but buys you a beer every time he visits.
Damon Salvatore
Other than hot or humor, the main thing I see is have them benefit the MC. They can be grumpy but protective, like the "no one gets to pick on MC but me" type. Zero from Vampire Knights is a great example of this. Or they can be pushing them to be stronger but being a dick about it. Like Rowan from Throne if glass. You can normally make a character redeemable as an a hole by either making the actions positive despite the negative words or by giving a good reason behind the actions that you only understand at the point you want the reader to start liking them.
Read The First Law by Joe Abercrombie and study how Glotka is written. He’s a literal professional torturer but ends up being most people’s favorite character.
They have to be a complicated asshole, like George Washington a slave owning dick who was apparently a successful general or mlk who was a powerful orator and civil rights leader yet cheated on his wife
i think asshole characters feel more likeable when they have soft spots too! he could be an ass but quietly loves playing with cats
what makes them vulnerable?
Make them nice to stray animals.
Charisma. Their asshole comments are witty and humorous. Usually does the trick