Writing Excuses Transcripts

Writing Excuses 13-4: Protagonists Who Aren't Sympathetic

From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2018/01/28/13-4-protagonists-who-arent-sympathetic/

Key points: Non-sympathetic protagonists, aka antiheroes, come in two flavors, classic and pop! Classic or literary antiheroes don't protag. They don't move the story along, even though they are where a protagonist should be. Pop is an evil person who still does good. Why write an unlikable character? Well, one reason is a reverse character arc, where the character goes down, then redeems himself and comes back up. It does make readers uncomfortable! Sometimes it's a signal that the character is becoming an antagonist. Sometimes we do it to mimic reality -- some people aren't very likable! To make it work, hang a lantern on it, give the reader subtle hints that it is okay to dislike this character. Modern antiheroes? The Punisher, or other bad guys with a heart of gold. We like them because we wish we could forget the limits and just do it. Hulk smash! Also, the pop culture antihero has dramatic tension -- they aren't likable, but they are proactive and competent. Built-in tension! Or maybe they are likable and proactive, but not competent. Again, built-in tension. You may not like them, but when the aliens show up, they are the hero you need.
( Motorcycle jackets and long hair... )

[Brandon] All right. Let's wrap this one up. I have some homework for you. I want you to take a slightly different spin on this. I want you to write a protagonist or a hero that the reader is supposed to like and does like. Right? You're going to make them likable. But you're going to try to create dramatic tension by having them… By having the reader not want this protagonist to succeed. So, generally, the reader's going to have information that the protagonist doesn't, or they're going to see things more clearly than the protagonist does. So you want the hero to fail. He or she is trying something, and you like them, but you still want them to not succeed. See if you can do that. It's very difficult. It's an interesting thought experiment. This has been Writing Excuses. You're out of excuses, now go write.