Is it ok to write a story where the main character's a jerk?

[kaiwang868]

I think it is perfectly fine for a main character to be a jerk - so long as there is a good reason that justifies it, or if his/her meanness is used for comedic purposes. If the person is an ass simply for the sake of it, then I think audiences will reject that character.

[silverraven0]

First of all, this is just my opinion and if it ended up sounding harsh, I'm sorry in advance.

The thing I noticed in your thread is that you keep on mixing Abu with yourself (instead of using 'him', you used 'me' in some part). Maybe try to not get sucked on too much in the story and try to separates the existence of 'Abu', and 'yourself' first thing first. It's kinda unhealthy and will only make you feel more self doubt than anything.

If you can't find the artist to make the comic and animation, just write that as a novel format like you said first.

And about your question, the thing I will say is "Why not?" And "Who cares if No one else like it or not as long as you're happy with it and making it will make you happier?"

Rude and scum characters is actually kinda common, it just the matter of how well you can portray them in your story, and knowing 'why he did it' or 'is there a reason for him to do it' is pretty much the important quest for you to find the answer right now.

The biggest achievements you will get from that is that you can show them you can do it even thought it ended up bad. At least you made something for someone to remember and can shove it to their face even if no one like the final product. At least you're happy with it.

You can just ignore the rude comments, but at some point, there some real criticisms that might help you among them. You only need to know which one to take to heart and learn from the obvious trolls.

And I'm still kinda worried if you ended up getting copyrighted (I'm not sure, but it's possible...?) for the hamster chara. Maybe seriously consider to change the chara a bit (different hamster drawing etc) and changing a few aspect of your story a bit.

That's all I can say. I don't know if its wrong but I hope this help a little.

[SilverLugia456]

Answering the main question that you have honestly creating a character that is a jerk is creating a character that has a flaw that can be picked. I have seen many different projects (anime, manga, video games, ect) where for the first good portion of the story the main character has great character flaws. These character flaws usually came out as them being annoying, a jerk, cold-hearted, unfeeling, ect. One of the most recent examples of that would be a video games that I played called .Hack// (the one that had the collection of all four games), the beginning of the game there was Haseo and due to what happen at the beginning of the game his character flaws showed through most of the first game and almost all of the second game before he starts to develop more as a character and is flaws are changed.

I will be one to admit that when I played the game I found Haseo to be annoying and a jerk, however knowing that he would change whether he was aware of it or not made seeing the character more interesting. One thing I would like to point out is that if your character is a jerk or you are going to place those flaws on a character there needs to be a reason for it. Whether the reason is a internal one or an external one. It would seem too random if you had a character who was a jerk without giving a reason. That may place against your story and the overall message you are hoping to display but choosing to have your character be that way. It seems from what you said that the character is some sort of reflection of your life and so maybe adding a bit more twist to it creativity to give your character some room for development.

So give a reason that you character has that flaw of being a jerk, then from there as the story progresses have different points in time where the character begins to develop out of that flaw. They can still be jerks but maybe not has often or it gets better as time progresses in the story. If you have a main character in a story that is a jerk and remains a jerk throughout the story without any kind of development or reason then that would be creating a flat character and that could hurt your story.

As for whether or not the audience likes your story I think if you have a story to tell then you should tell it. I have published two stories so far on Tapas as much as I love to have an audience I know that there are bound to be people out there who may not be interested in what I'm writing. One person can't speak for your entire audience. You will have people who both like and probably dislike your stories at some point.

I have also posted on the Tapas forums out other major character types can play an important role in helping you share your main character from their flaws to how they overcome them. So that may be an option to open up when you are working on developing your main character as the story progresses. The characters around them will make an impact on how they perceive themselves.

So overall I say it is okay to create a character like as long as the character as some sort of development to them and they aren't the same throughout the entire story.

( Sorry that this post is so long ^^; )

[Wumbl]

I mean... my main character is a really vile person, but it serves a purpose in the story. Since the story is about him learning to be less self-obsessed and learning to connect properly with other people it makes sense he'd start out as a jackass. A lot of my readers think it's good for the story I'm telling.
The whole point of him is to make you think "wow I hate this guy good thing I'm nothing like him" but then because of the circumstances of the story you are forced to feel sorry for him - he has a week to live and all. You get a kind of satisfaction out of watching people become better people and the same goes for fictional characters. Of course it's okay for your main character to not be a perfect, heroic type.

Every character should have flaws. Nobody has a problem with characters that are "jerks" so long as the writing makes it clear that it's not good behaviour - other characters should react negatively to the person, and even point out that they're in some way unlikeable.
People would have WAY more of a problem if your protagonist was this perfect and morally spotless person because then there would be no character development.

[shazzbaa]

A few things!

• I think it'll be easier to get feedback if you work on summarising! A lot of these little asides aren't necessary to understand the main question, which as I understand it is essentially "I made a character that's sort of based on me and my history; I acted like a jerk in the past, so the character will be a jerk but will eventually change for the better. Can a character like that work, or will people be turned off by a main character who is horrible to people with no self-awareness?"

• Is it okay? Sure, it's certainly okay to write a story where the main character is a jerk! The question is, is it a good idea? Does it work for your story? Many many stories start out with characters who have huge flaws and later have to recognise and challenge those flaws. Frankly, you can even have a main character who is awful and is never redeemed at all, and it's possible to make that story work just from the audience being interested in what he does, and why and how he rejects redemption. The tricky bit is in the execution -- not What Happens, but How You Show It, since there's a lot of different ways to write the same scene, and that's gonna make a big difference here in whether the story seems to be aware that the character is acting badly.

• I think something that you have to be VERY CAUTIOUS about for this story in particular is the fact that it's a character based on you. I even see you slipping up in a few places and referring to the character as "me." It's not a bad thing to have a character that's based on you, not at all! But sometimes this makes it very hard not to be defensive about a character, especially when you see the character as a version of yourself. You sympathise with them a lot, because it's you, and you see all the events through their eyes, and it becomes easy to justify that character, to want to explain that they didn't know better, to want to show how they had good reason for the way they acted even if it was the wrong action. So you have to be careful and very thoughtful, I think; audiences often feel weird if a story is overly defensive.

Overall, this story is doable!! You can have a character who starts out hurtful, with no self-awareness, and mistreats the people around him, and have a story that examines that character's flaws and has the character themselves have to come face to face with those flaws, and the consequences of those flaws, and learn how to be better in a non-trivial way that doesn't magically make all the consequences go away. That character can also learn and become something greater than he was and find success. That's totally possible to make into a decent story! But if you want to examine a character who's a jerk, who's also based on you, you need a lot of thoughtfulness and care for that character to not feel defensive.

[Stardust-clearwater]

I had a hard time parsing what you wrote in your post. I have no idea if thats because of my ADD combined with sleep deprivation or if its because you took too many sentences to get to the point. I feel like there are more questions being asked aside from the title one that Im not picking up.

Anyways to answer your title question, yes. Your main character can totally be a jerk so long as there are actual consequences to the assholery. Said character should actually suffer through some direct consequences as well and come out of it a more well rounded individual. There should also be moments of introspection where they realize that they were jerks or that they suffered because they were jerks.

Theres also different kinds of jerk to choose from. Some of them are more appropriate for a protagonist than others.

You have the ignorant jerk- This is the one that no one wants to be around as its very different from an uninformed person. Its more entertaining to watch this character suffer from his ignorance in most cases.

The rude jerk- This character can be very fun to read. especially if hes rude as in lacking manners snide remarks as opposed to rude as in. Make sure the rudeness is either humorous if they get away with it or the comeuppance matches the offense if they dont.

intolerant jerk- I never want to read anything about a racist, sexist, homophobic or transphobic character unless theres some serious personal growth and discovery going on. This kind of story needs to be handled carefully. Sometimes they use religion as an excuse to be an ass. There would have to be some pretty serious comeuppance to make this character acceptable

The insensitive jerk- this character is hurtful with out meaning to be or doesnt acknowledge that what they are doing is unpleasant. Usually they say things like "aww come on, it was just a joke. I dont get why youre so upset about this." "Are you seriously still hung up on that?" or other things of that nature. These also make for good protagonists but this sort of thing is like salt. Make sure there are other things going on in your story while this character developes.

self centered jerk- This also makes for a good main character because every person on this planet has gone through a self centered phase. Plus every body can see themselves the appeal of some of the things.

Stuck up jerk- this would make for a good guest POV. it could make for a good comedy main character. Nobody would want to read this character for long. There should be some serious things that knock this character off their horse. the catharsis of watching them fall is amazing.

anyways good luck with your story.

[joannekwan]

Like others have said, it's fine to write a jerk as the main character as long as there are consequences and hopefully he learns and modifies his behavior to become better. And please do try to separate yourself from the character unless it's an autobiography. It could save you a lot of derision. People on the internet are cruel and will use anything as fodder for attack.

I'd also like to ask, do you know of 'Chris-chan'? You did mention him in the opening post, do you know his whole story? Because I am seeing some parallels between his experience and what we know of you through these forums. His story is a really good cautionary tale of what not to do when going about posting online (mainly don't share your personal information with strangers but there are other points as well). I think hearing about it from a neutral point of view would be a good learning experience for anyone who shares work online. This is a great video from Fredrik Knudsen on the story.

[MK_Wizard]

Many people write stories with protagonists who are far from wholesome. Heck, some are complete villains let alone jerks. That doesn't mean it will be no good.

[darkone4587]

Short answer: Yes!

Long answer: Yes, but complicated.
It's like unless you want your story to have an unlikable protagonist then you have to give them some form of redeeming traits or have them change from being jerks to becoming better people.But some stories need a villain protagonist, so it ultimately comes down to what kind of series you want to make.

[Wumbl]

I just want to add something after reading through your original post more thoroughly:

I don't think the problem with the story is that it's about a character who's a jerk and learns not to be over time. I think the main thing you should watch out for is making it too personal. It's best, when adapting events from your real life, to keep it metaphorical. In my experience authors who just write about their lives and what they want to be in the way you're proposing can end up upsetting others. It's mainly scenarios like what happened to Chris-chan. He wrote comics that were actually about people he knew in real life and it caused them to feel creeped out by it. If you're going to include real experiences in your story it's probably best to make sure you're not doing anything that would upset the real person.
Another problem that arises is that it can blur the lines between art and artist - it's important to make your work your own but it's equally important to not inject your entire being into it because otherwise all criticism of the work will be too personal and you'll find it harder to make necessary changes or redrafts.

I think those are the main things you should be extra careful of when writing a self insert.

[DiegoPalacios]

Writing a jerk as a protagonist can be tricky, but with the right tools it can become an entertaining and memorable character.

Here are some tips on how to make jerks more likable/tolerable. Which ones fit with will depend of your character and the story.

1-Make them funny: A hillarious jerk is more likable because it makes the readers laugh.

2-Make them target someone who deserves it: If a jerk gets sarcastic or cruel on someone that is worse than him, that makes their sarcasm and jerkish behavior more likable.

3-Make them suffer some karma: If a jerk suffer the consequences for their actions it can make them more tolerable. A jerk that always get their way is harder to tolerate.

4-Make them learn their lesson: They can gradually learn how to be better people.

[GesuGesu]

You are going off on a tangent in your post too many times where your ramblings become unrelated to the initial topic.

Be careful of oversharing personal info online, because internet folks are jerks who will use it to make fun of you.

Finally, keep your summary short and concise. Wtf does Abu going on Hamsteritt have to do with being a martial artist jerk?

As for the answer to your question, you can write one, but keep it focused on character development and don't stay off the path.

[vfinnigan]

It's OK to make the main character a jerk, although it's important to give said character enough redeeming or potentially redeeming qualities so you don't make the reader feel uncomfortable rooting for said character. If you're giving said character a redemption arc, it can't come out of nowhere. You have to foreshadow that and toss the readers a few crumbs along the way, so that when said redemption is achieved, it's a satisfying one that people have long wanted to see.

If you keep writing main characters that readers want to slap upside the face, or worse yet writing characters with whom readers simply don't wish to spend their time, your story will not gain traction, or perhaps not gain the amount of traction you want. Don't make your story one in which readers have to search desperately for a character to like or a reason to like the main character.

[mrtoontastic]

Sure, as long as he gets his own comeuppance or redemption in the end

[Rhonder]

Cutting through the fluff in the post: yes, absolutely! I'd argue you don't even necessarily have to make them particularly likeable/have a redemption/growth arc so long as you understand the consequences that might have on your readers and structure the story accordingly (maybe they start rooting for the heroic antagonist despite not following their P.O.V., for example).

That said it sounds like you're wanting to write about a flawed character who eventually grows. This type of character arc totally works :] A random example off the top of my head, look into the Disgaea game series which uses this kind of trope often (the jerky main char that develops over the course of the story). Disgaea 1 has the most pure form of this, but it's seen in many of the others too.

[Freemints30]

Ever heard of Dan VS. That's rather entertaining cartoon with a jerk as a main character. And I think it does show a very good example of what to do when writing one. He behavior is so over the top it's just flat out entertaining(trying to get revenge on the the entire country of Canada), when his behavior is unreasonable he ends up in a worst position than when he started, the time he's on top is when his behavior is directed at people who deserves it making it more of a fun tale of revenge. And finally he does show some kindness to other now and then.
I hope that helps you.

[monotone_ink]

Read Ashita no Joe for a story that has a jerk of a character--there is no doubt that Joe is a massive asshole, but his character as a whole is what drives the story forward.

Also, please do not end up like Chris Chan, you're starting to self insert into your work - distance yourself from your comic, and you'll be able to think through the production process with a clear head.

[hamsterdude]

holy. Shiz!! Ashita no Joe reference.. I love Joe..

I watched it with my ex-best friend (a person that for 15 years has made everyone hate me and like him instead. He is the second main character in this series of mine that's about my past online life, although all the people don't like me now and I'm trying to find a character designer because I'm replacing them with original characters that still act pretty much the same) after I watched it myself, and he kept joking saying "a shit no joe" and saying over and over again that he's an asshole.

But I don't get how he could think that Joe is an asshole. He punched and kicked cops in the face! He stands up for what he believes in, even if its breaking the rules. To me he's not really completly an asshole and he care for the orphans and stuff.

I just watched the Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World movie and oh man.. Its just like my situation and my story (but without the seven evil Xs part or a part about a girlfriend.) The second main character in my series, based on my ex-online friend that keeps asking me to add him as a friend again even today but he's abusive to me. Well I'd get into it but it'd take a long time.

Thanks for all the advice!!

I get a bit carried away cuz I KEEP venting on reddit but people respond asking if I'm a troll and there's these haters that constantly downvote my threads and say negative things in them, even after I blocked them.

Maybe the story is kinda about an autistic hamster that most people don't understand (based on me,) well actually it is. Abu's a bit different from the other hamsters. (just like how I was at the Hamtaro message boards in year 2002 to 2004.)

I feel really bad cuz I kept telling my friend about the story arc about when I got jealous and got too involved with her life at a message board in 2006 and everyone was mad at me and I got banned from my own message board (In my series, that's when Abu becomes shadow abu and kills himself, but after a timeskip he gets revived,

and walks in on people partying hard to a nobodyknows+ song about how happy they are that Abu is finally dead and gone forever cuz everyone hates him. Like how people started not liking me anymore at the hamtaro message board I made that I got banned from even though I created it.)

And now her friend doesn't seem to like me anymore, I tried to talk to him on Twitter last month (the one that banned me from the forum in the first place.) Those are two very important characters in my series about my online life at Hamtaro message boards and I hope I can find a character designer to replace them.

Sorry I might've been off topic for some of the post. All day long I want to talk to someone, but there's no one to talk to. I keep venting on reddit lots of times daily, but again the haters attack it and people say they can't understand me. So I try to make my reddit posts sound crazier and I try to troll myself sometimes in them (cuz I feel bad that I made my old online friends feel bad and so I try to punish myself by making myself look bad online so people online can attack me since I deserve to be attacked, also because someone in my family acts like a troll too, and most of all cuz people that it was funny on gamefaqs in year 2006 and I liked making people laugh, although no one seems to like it anymore) but people still ignore my reddit posts.

And now after barely sleeping last night from my mom's very loud breathing machine (they say on reddit I should feel bad for saying that and that she needs it, but I love her and know she needs it. I keep posting videos on YouTube of her breathing machine and mods of support groups keep telling me I'm uploading too much of my life online.) And nows the time of the day where I finally get to type something after not talking to anyone for over a day and wanting to talk, and I guess I ended up maybe writing more than I had to. Its hard for me to know completly whats on topic and not sometimes.

Thanks for all the advice! The Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World movie that I just re-watched today (man that is very much like my life... besides the seven evil Xs part) made me see that yes, stories can have a story where the main character is blah at first but then becomes unblahable later.

[spicy_sweets]

Erm
you have a lot of personal info mentioned that doesn't really connect with the topic ;;
To put it simply, yes characters can be jerks. Realistically, jerks are common af. Can't go a year without em in reality so the same goes for fiction (depending on your worldbuilding)
What bugs me is how much you're putting yourself and your friends(?) into this comic. It comes off as a biography, from what I skimmed through. Dunno if that's what you're going for, tho

[LT1986]

Thank you for making the forum topic. I do believe that a main character can be a jerk. I think that this concept is unique. It is unique like having the villains win sometimes, not just a battle but an entire season or two.