Yeah, I’m still droning on about Untamed Heart LOL. Leon, my POV character, is the first character I’ve ever written who really is kind of an anti-social bastard. The thing is, he’s been through some truly horrible events, and you can’t help but feel sympathetic towards him. You can’t help liking him, even, and you definitely want him to find his HEA (which he will, I swear!). At least that’s how I feel, and I want you readers out there to feel the same.
So now that I’m deep into this tale, I’m wondering about the anti-social hero in general. What makes a hero like this sympathetic? What makes you want to spend time with him, get to know him better? What makes you care about him? Is it just the pain he’s experienced, or is it some potential for good that you see in him? I ask because I want everyone to love Leon the way I do, but I don’t want anyone to lose sight of who he is. He’s not a “nice guy” even though he IS a “good guy”, if that makes sense.
So tell me. What makes you love a difficult-to-love hero?
Written by Ally Blue
Ally is a rich and famous author of hot gay manlove. She travels the world in her private jet, being waited on hand and foot by her team of pretty young men who bring her umbrella drinks and make out for her pleasure . . . Okay, so that's her dream life. Her novels of Manlove & Angst are mostly written in her living room, in between working at the Evil Day Job and doing Mom Stuff. Oh, the glamorous life of an author!
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L.M. Prieto wrote,
For me, it helps if I can relate to the character. Is he mourning a loved one? Did he lose something that meant the world to him? Is he falling in love for the second time in his life, and does that scare him? (possibly more than the first time did, since he knows that he can lose it)
The character can be a total prick to other people, but as long as he shares everything with me (the reader), I’ll follow him anywhere.
Link | June 27th, 2007 at 3:06 am
Kimber wrote,
Quite often I think it’s the vulnerability of the antisocial hero that makes me love him. Those flashes of humanity that I as the reader get to see even when there’s no other characters for him to interact with. And come to think of it, being the antisocial type he would most likely rather die than show those vulnerabilities to anyone else, but because I have that special window into his soul I get to see the soft and sensitive aspects he hides from the rest of the world. And that’s what really flips my switch and makes me cheer for him.
Link | June 28th, 2007 at 6:05 am
Ines wrote,
I agree with Kimber. For me it’s the unexpected actions of the character that keep me reading. Those little things that you wouldn’t expect him doing due to him being that type of person (antisocial or whatever).
Link | June 30th, 2007 at 4:03 am
Zot wrote,
You’ve gotta have a hook of some sort, something that lets the reader identify with your total bastard^W^Wprotagonist. Giving them some sort of tragic background is traditional, but it always feels like a cop-out to me. But, then, I prefer the unrepentant reprobate to the snarling and tortured SOB.
Bastardy does give you a good hook, though. Your protagonist can do (with some relish) the things that sane, pleasant human beings don’t do. We’ve all got a bit of the bastard in us, and that bit is always tickled when people do the things we’ve always wanted to do but can’t because we’re not quite horrible enough.
Injustice works too — there are some things that shouldn’t happen to anyone, scum or not, and when they do the resulting righteous indignation and the repercussions are always fun. (Tying in to the previous reason a bit as well)
Having someone we do actually relate to have an attachment to the protagonist can work as well. Even if it’s a secondary character, they can act as a gateway to the protagonist.
Scissors Sisters’ track “I can’t decide” (Yes, I am a total geek, and get pointers to music from Doctor Who) kinda works as a soundtrack for some of the anti-heroes. Works for me, at least.
Link | July 1st, 2007 at 4:12 pm