Intentionally writing an unlikable character

[Djmac1031]

Writing a new story. This won't be my first story to feature an intentionally unlikable character. Won't even be the first where that character is the narrator.

It will however be the first time I'm setting out to intentionally make readers hate this guy. Now, he will get his comeuppance in the end. But readers will need to make it that far, and hopefully not bail because he's an asshole.

I'm hoping the plot / scenario intrigues readers enough to look past my awful narrator long enough to become invested in the story.

Part of me wants to tone him down a bit. But the writer in me wants to crank his obnoxious level to 11.

I am balancing him out with two other decent characters, of course, and the story will cover their interactions with him and how they ultimately deal with him.


I'm trying to think of a mainstream story that's ever pulled off having an Unlikable Character in the lead. Closest I've come is Patrick Bateman in American Psycho.

As usual I start these topics not so much looking for ANSWERS as just looking to discuss the idea and get other thoughts on it.

 

[StillStunned]

I'm trying to think of a mainstream story that's ever pulled off having an Unlikable Character in the lead. Closest I've come is Patrick Bateman in American Psycho.

Sheldon Cooper comes to mind, but he was balanced by the other characters.

As usual I start these topics not so much looking for ANSWERS as just looking to discuss the idea and get other thoughts on it.

I think it would be important for the character not to think of himself as unlikeable. He thinks his put-downs are funny, or doesn't understand how important it is to sugarcoat harsh opinions, or has zero impulse control, or constantly justifies his shitty behaviour to himself, or is simply unable to understand that other people have other likes and dislikes (all drawing from a cringing retrospective on my own younger self).

The reader would have to slowly become aware that this is awful behaviour, and start to dislike the character more and more as the story goes on, rather than making him unlikeable from the beginning. That way they're more invested in seeing him suffer in the end.

 

[Kasumi_Lee]

It will however be the first time I'm setting out to intentionally make readers hate this guy. Now, he will get his comeuppance in the end. But readers will need to make it that far, and hopefully not bail because he's an asshole.

I'm hoping the plot / scenario intrigues readers enough to look past my awful narrator long enough to become invested in the story.

I am balancing him out with two other decent characters, of course, and the story will cover their interactions with him and how they ultimately deal with him.

I'm trying to think of a mainstream story that's ever pulled off having an Unlikable Character in the lead. Closest I've come is Patrick Bateman in American Psycho.

I think it's important to distinguish between characters the audience loves to hate and characters who are just insufferable, because the former can end up being the most compelling characters in a story. I don't know if I necessarily "love to hate" Patrick Bateman, but Homelander would fit the bill nicely (until The Boys degenerated into self-indulgent edgelordism), and so would Quintus Batiatus from Spartacus: Blood and Sand.

Part of me wants to tone him down a bit. But the writer in me wants to crank his obnoxious level to 11.

A truly hateful example of an obnoxious character ruining a show for me is Zenitsu from Demon Slayer, which is otherwise one of the best anime shows I've ever seen. He's a secondary character who shows up about a third of the way through the first season, and the writer of the manga on which it's based (and hence the anime follows suit) cranked his obnoxiousness up to twenty. His presence alone almost made me quit watching the show.

I can obviously only speak for myself on this, but characters who are plain hateful, or even just infuriating to have on the page/screen, without being compelling or having any redeeming qualities quickly drive me to stop reading/watching, or at least hope that they disappear from the story as soon as possible.

 

[Djmac1031]

Sheldon Cooper comes to mind, but he was balanced by the other characters.

I dunno. I honestly felt most of those characters were unlikable and obnoxious lol.

I think it would be important for the character not to think of himself as unlikeable.

The reader would have to slowly become aware that this is awful behaviour, and start to dislike the character more and more as the story goes on, rather than making him unlikeable from the beginning. That way they're more invested in seeing him suffer in the end.

Interesting points. And my character has acknowledged at least somewhat his unlikeability.

I'm not too deep into the weeds just yet. But that is something to consider.

 

[Djmac1031]

I
think it's important to distinguish between characters the audience loves to hate and characters who are just insufferable, because the former can end up being the most compelling characters in a story.

Good point. I suppose I won't know for sure til it's finished, but right now my character is leaning more towards insufferable. Hmm.

 

[Carnevil9]

The most successful Unlikable Main Character I can think of is Dr. House. I think the reason they pulled that off is that the audience took glee in watching him get away with behavior that most of us would either get fired for, or sent to jail.

I can't think of any good examples from literature, though. Humbert from Lolita was pretty despicable, but it takes the reader a while to learn that.

 

[Djmac1031]

The most successful Unlikable Main Character I can think of is Dr. House. I think the reason they pulled that off is that the audience took glee in watching him get away with behavior that most of us would either get fired for, or sent to jail.

I think the actor playing the role had a lot to do with that as well. The guy played the perfect asshole but somehow you still liked him.

 

[Kasumi_Lee]

The most successful Unlikable Main Character I can think of is Dr. House. I think the reason they pulled that off is that the audience took glee in watching him get away with behavior that most of us would either get fired for, or sent to jail.

I'm not sure if I really took glee in watching his behavior, but I loved his dry wit and as the series progressed you got to see glimpses of a more vulnerable person underneath. I didn't find him unlikeable to watch, even though I probably wouldn't want to work with someone like that.

 

[Carnevil9]

I think the actor playing the role had a lot to do with that as well. The guy played the perfect asshole but somehow you still liked him.

I've read that when he auditioned for the role, he assumed he would be a supporting character. Because nobody would be stupid enough to have a main character who is that much of a jerk!

 

[Voboy]

I've been told I write really good villains, and I appreciated that. I don't think one-dimensional characters are all that interesting, so I try to make my villains (for lack of a better term) "human." I do enjoy writing them, but if you're interested in a high score here, they do need to get their comeuppance. Two stories of mine come to mind where I let my Bad Girls off scot-free, and I received many comments about that.

I write what I'd want to read, meaning I like to read about interesting villains too.

 

[Lifestyle66]

Have you watched the Netflix series "Shameless"?

William Macey plays the main character in the eleven-season series, a 40-50-ish year old drunk & drug addict with kids. And he truly is shameless.

In several episodes, he's conning his way into the house of a woman who has degenerative heart disease and only days or weeks to live. And when he answers the phone at her house from the hospital that they have a heart donor for her, the guy says she's already dead, just so he can inherit her big screen TV when she dies.

 

[NotWise]

I have several stories with unlikable characters (so the Lit readers say). One that stands out is Niles in "A Christmas Tart." He was the antagonist, so making him unlikable came pretty easily, but I started with the name (research told me that no-one likes anyone named Niles), and kept building on it. He was a Snidely Whiplash -- scale scum bag, so the readers were ready for the climax of the story, where he gets tossed into the corner like a sack.

Unlikable protagonists are another matter, and I have a few of those too. In Quarter to Midnight Aaron is a bastard and Renee is a bitch. They're meant for each other.

I recently heard some advice on writing unlikable protagonists. They said to open by giving the readers something to like about the protagonist and get them hooked before the protagonist starts making unpopular decisions.

 

[Djmac1031]

they do need to get their comeuppance

Oh that he will lol. I considered telling the story from one of the other characters POV or better yet, simply 3rd Person.

But there are several reasons I want to tell his downfall through his own eyes.

 

[SimonDoom]

The best example I can think of in movies is Michael Corleone of the Godfather trilogy. He starts off OK but becomes a paranoid murderous gang kingpin, but his character is absolutely compelling and carries the drama.

In TV, I'd point to Walter White from Breaking Bad, mild-mannered chemistry teacher turned murderous meth lord.

Both characters are essentially evil, but they're so well drawn that we sympathize with them and find their stories compelling.

So, it can be done.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

It will however be the first time I'm setting out to intentionally make readers hate this guy. Now, he will get his comeuppance in the end. But readers will need to make it that far, and hopefully not bail because he's an asshole.

Or you could just write for the people who want to read about interesting bad people, the imaginative crap that they pull and/or what makes them tick.

I'm trying to think of a mainstream story that's ever pulled off having an Unlikable Character in the lead. Closest I've come is Patrick Bateman in American Psycho.

There are tons! Hannibal Lecter, Annie from misery, pretty much everyone in The Godfather.

Also, from a literary standpoint, it is much easier to make an interesting 100% bad villain than it is to make an interesting 100% saint hero, so go for it, write him real real bad.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I'm trying to think of a mainstream story that's ever pulled off having an Unlikable Character in the lead. Closest I've come is Patrick Bateman in American Psycho.

A few that come to mind:

Thomas Covenant
Downfall
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Macbeth
House of Cards

 

[Lifestyle66]

A few that come to mind:

Thomas Covenant
Downfall
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Macbeth
House of Cards

I'd forgotten about House of Cards.

That's a great example, and Kevin Spacey placed the role perfectly!

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Where would Shakespeare have been without Iago or MacBeth or Richard IiI?

Actually, I rather like the way WS wrote Richard - a thoroughgoing villain, but all too human with his doubts and worries. That’s the best kind of villain and the hardest to write convincingly.

Good luck.

 

[Djmac1031]

Hannibal Lecter, Annie from misery,

Great characters, but I'd argue that neither of those stories are from that characters POV. Silence Of The Lambs is from Clarice's POV, and Misery from Paul Sheldon's.

But I get the point.

 

[MrPixel]

I wrote an unlikable MC from the very start in one series. He was an arrogant asshole, but the two FMCs were attracted by his "bad boy" persona along with his sexual acumen. He was eventually written out when he came-on to the MMC's eventual serious GF, who called his bluff and sent him packing.

 

[SimonDoom]

An interesting and effective literary example is the novel A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley. It's a retelling of King Lear, set on a farm in Iowa, told from the perspective of one of the "bad" daughters, Goneril (Ginny in the book). She's not a good person, but the author effectively makes you see things from her perspective.

 

[Djmac1031]

An interesting and effective literary example is the novel A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley. It's a retelling of King Lear, set on a farm in Iowa, told from the perspective of one of the "bad" daughters, Goneril (Ginny in the book). She's not a good person, but the author effectively makes you see things from her perspective.

That's kinda what I'm going for here. Although I don't think he's going to wind up very sympathetic in readers eyes. But I don't really want him to be.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Alec Baldwin plays the boss from hell in Glenglarry Ross. (Also with Kevin Spacey.) The speech where he first meets the salesmen is brilliant but frightening. "Always be closing!" The fear he projects is not about physical violence, but the threat (almost a promise) of losing one's job.

 

[SimonDoom]

That's kinda what I'm going for here. Although I don't think he's going to wind up very sympathetic in readers eyes. But I don't really want him to be.

If you effectively convey the character's circumstances and motivations, you can make it work. Think of Tony Soprano from the Sopranos. Archie Bunker from All in the Family. Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver.

 

[MyBareTorso]

Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull was a wife-beating, bullying, buffoonish asshole, and that's one of the greatest films ever made. It can be done! Crank it up to 11, @Djmac1031! You know what you're doing, man! Go for it!