Writing a deeply flawed main character

[Taskerling]

This is for all you writers, and creators who also have a jerk butt main character with personality flaws as deep as the ocean!

How do you make a character that is either mean/ unempathetic / cold / angry likable? How do you make the audience care about them, and get invested in their story?
Do you think they should all have character arcs where they learn to be better people, or do you think it is okay for them to stay jerk butts but have a character arc where they don't learn to be good but learn something completely different?

Also if you have any jerk butt characters what made them a jerk butt, or were they just born that way?

[staletalescomic]

I always think of angry jerk main characters has having a lonely side to them. I would think they can tell they push too many people away and we all need companionship or help from time to time. Unless your character is evil then their mean side is most likely impulsive and not something they admire about themselves.

[miesmud]

Kacchan from Boku no Hero academia is an example of a likeable jerk.
I think he is likeable because he works hard for his goals and the creator shows his struggles. Also if you justify WHY your character is a jerk, they become more likeable too. For example: they are mean because of a backstory or conflict with other characters' goals. Just don't make them plain mean.

But I don't know. I'm not a good person to ask tho, because I usually like the jerk characters the most... When a jerk character cries it always has so much impact on me

I have a jerk character that has partly a sad backstory, but mainly struggles with his pride, skills and jealousy.

[heterodont]

Basically don't just show them being a pure jerk or beat the audience over the head with how mean they can be. There's a certain threshold, for me as a reader at least, where if a character hasn't shown themselves to be redeemable in some way early on - I'm not going to like them no matter what tragic backstory. This is why I have such a disdain for 'bully' characters, people often times show them making the protag absolutely miserable which begs the question - why should I feel sympathetic towards someone who's making someone else's life hell? Granted, might be a bias.

Besides, unless they have some deep trauma, jerk characters aren't always going to be jerks. It definitely plays into their interactions with anyone, but you can use that to show at least some likeable side to them. Maybe they aren't as much as a jerk to someone else, for example.

Or another question: why are they a jerk? Personal insecurities? They don't know how to properly express themselves so its just other people that think theyre just a jerk? (One character of mine is supposed to be hella sarcastic without even realizing that's not. How you talk to people.) Or are they just a jerk because they enjoy it.

As for character arcs, again it depends. I find the whole "And they BECAME A BETTER PERSON!" Arc kind of cheesy and cliche, since no one ever fully changes their personality. Maybe they change just a little, but force of habit is going to make them act otherwise - except this time they're aware of their actions

[respheal]

Give them a Pet the Dog moment.

This term was coined by cynical screenwriters, basically meaning: show the nasty old crank petting a dog, and you show the audience, aw shucks, they're not that bad of a person after all. Often used to demonstrate that a Jerkass is really a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, or, if more limited, that the character is goal oriented rather than sadistic and/or thoroughly evil. If used as an Establishing Character Moment then you skip right past the jerkass phase.

This is a pretty common trick in screenwriting to help make characters more likable, and it doesn't even need to be them literally saving a cat or petting a dog. It could just be something like a small glimpse showing their more vulnerable side. For example, one of my favorite characters is a brutal cynic who wants nothing more than to be at home watching TV but got dropped into an adventure against his will. Or so you're made to believe. And then there's a peaceful moment, and he pulls out his sketchbook--ahh, there's another side to this character after all. The webcomic was really good up to that point, but that was the point that really sold me.

[zetina]

@respheal you mean Moképon, right? >u>

BUTYEA i mean to me as long as the jerk is a fun jerk, i'll like 'em. the aforementioned Kacchan is a pretty fun jerk because of how over the top he is. then there's people who just make really biting remarks because they just value facts and logic more than tiptoeing around pesky feelings. i personally don't need to see the jerk become a better person but usually you want whatever likeable character you meet to be happy and if being an ass gets in the way of that, then yeah something probably has to change. sometimes they don't have to stop being jerks - they just need to learn when not to be....? just saying "jerk" is pretty vague when you start considering all the variations so it depends. i do think it's possible to start with a jerk and end with a jerk who is likable throughout. like a story where everyone else is even worse :'D

[shiftingverses]

Quantify it. No-one is a jerk for no reason. Once you know why your character is a jerk, then it's a case of giving people a glimpse of the human side of their flaws.

[Pandastrophic]

If a character is a complete jerk all the time I wouldn't like them whether they have a sad backstory or not.
I think more than giving them a backstory to be a jerk it's more about how you write them to be well rounded as a person, a person isn't a jerk all the time and to everybody around them, how are they with people close to them, how are they with family, how are they with strangers and how to they see themself, are they self-aware? like do they know they're treating people badly and just can't help being so impulsive? I find when I see a character showing different sides of them to different people/situations, it's more relatable and human than a backstory.

[Samuraiflame]

Give them a Pet the Dog moment.

Pet the Dog moments are my weakness. I love jerks with secret hearts of gold, so those end up being a few of my main characters.

I agree with the tips people have mentioned so far, but I also wanted to add that (personally), I really don't mind when a character is a jerk, so long as their motivations are clear, and why or how they ended up this way. But if they have other unique quirks that aren't just being a moody, grumpy butt, all the better. Other hobbies, embarrassing secrets they hide from everywhere, being (comically) dense or oblivious to social norms...

One of my more controversial main characters is seen as a huge jerk, and my friends and fans either love him or hate him. But in all cases, everyone can say they know a guy like him in real life. Jerks exist, and realistically, not everyone gets a redemption arc in their lifetime.

[DMBrigman]

I have a Jerk character that people seem to love, and I admit he is my favorite to write.

I think it comes down to making them relatable, they are human after all. Showing what motivates them and having them act in a consistent manner. They can ultimately be redeemed, or maybe become a bit more sensitive after having their jerkiness called out. I think it is also important to have the surrounding characters react in a realistic manner. You should not have a jerk constantly making your main character upset and there be no consequences. I think that is what makes me get frustrated with jerk characters the most, when they are unfettered meanies and everyone around them is still nice to them, and keeps hanging around them. But, maybe from my own perspective I have stopped interacting with people who annoyed me that much so I can't relate to someone who just deals with that type of personality.

[respheal]

You caught me; I'm talking about Atty from Moképon, yes xD

[shazzbaa]

I don't think every jerk needs to be likeable to work, though that can make a great character -- I love the prickly character with a sympathetic side -- and it's not hard to do, if you imply there's other sides to them that aren't seen as often, or if they also have good qualities (like a bad person who is loyal to her friends, or an unpleasant jerk who wants important things done the right way to keep everyone safe). But if you have a character who's a confident, proactive badass, it's amazing how much people will overlook their inability to be kind to anyone.

I really liked this take from Der-shing Helmer:

It's tough because I think you have to simultaneously be able to say "this is horrible, there's no excuse for this," and "I can completely understand and sympathise with the reasoning that lead them to do these things."
I remember an actress talking about playing a manipulative, abusive character and describing how "I had to realise that I was standing in judgement of her," and that she had to let go of that judgement in order to play this character convincingly and compellingly. I think writers have to be able to do the same thing.

I feel like you also gotta understand them on a deeper level than "jerk." Like, there's a big difference between "character who is awful and who hates and abuses women" and "character who is deeply insecure and afraid of being taken advantage of, so he manipulates women to keep them under his control and lashes out abusively against anyone he can't manipulate." They have similar surface-level behaviour, but the latter character is going to feel more human and thus more compelling. I don't think a backstory ("he's insecure because when he was a child this thing happened to him") is as important as that deeper level of understanding.

[Aspie_Gamer]

Writer of a jerk character here.

In LoaA, Eiji Onizuka is the Eric Cartman of the comic. That is, he's the funny asshole of the gang and like Cartman, Eiji doesn't give a damn about precious "fee-fees" when he's making fun of other people. Now. The difference between being a funny asshole and a plain mean old asshole is that a funny asshole is like the class clown who's always talking over the teacher or is constantly disrupting his fellow student's learning for his own amusement. A troll in other words. A funny asshole should always be pushing the envelope with what's acceptable behavior and what's not, but still know where the line is drawn in the sand. Also, a funny asshole should still get some comeuppance every now and then so that you avoid the "Karma Houdini" problem.

A straight up asshole wants everyone to feel as miserable as he does by bringing them down to his level kicking and screaming if he has to and with a straight up asshole, you know that their rudeness isn't played for laughs whatsoever.

[Michelle]

I think it goes for any main character, jerk or not, that if they don't have an personality arc, they're going to be very grating and boring. A jerky character doesn't have to do a 180 by the end of the story, but they should undergo some level of personality change. If the events of the story don't change the character's mind, what's the point?

You can totally have a main character who's a jerk. There's tons of popular anti-hero stories. But readers need to be able to understand the reasons behind their behaviour, and see some likeable traits in them. As someone mentioned, maybe they're a gigantic ass to everyone else but incredibly loyal to their friends. Maybe they have a major disdain for people but are compassionate about animals. Maybe they have to act cold and indifferent because they're afraid of feelings getting in the way of their goals.

In any case, I think most people are bored of the gruff, emotionless, action protag who rattles off sarcastic one-liners. So if you're gonna write a cold, unempathetic jerk, at least give them an arc where we see a deeper side of them.

[NickRowler]

I sometimes really like jerky characters, but a lot of making them likable is addressing that they are flawed. Maybe they are dumb, maybe they are insecure, maybe they are a social outcast. You also need to address that their poor behavior is well...poor. If a character is a jerk and always get away with it, it just comes off as unpleasant. Like if he was a playboy, having him always getting the girl after being an asshole to her is just EWWW.

[Zyephen]

Charisma imo. I think Charisma can make an otherwise unlikable character likable. Though I've also seen some people do it with comedy too. Giving them a sympathetic backstory can also help imo.

[spadesart]

if all else fails make them hot (or comical like black hat)

[scarlet_wings_kaili]

I have a lot of deeply flawed characters because the basis of my comic is exploring flawed characters LOL

I think the important thing is to not make the character "one-sided". Meaning, don't only present them as a "jerk" for the sake of being a jerk. Ask: Why does this character have an anger problem? Why is this character distant? Prideful? Honestly, everyone is flawed, so to an extent everyone can relate to being flawed if it makes sense.

Whether or not your character stays flawed or not, probably depends on the story itself. Most people don't want to change unless they are pushed to do so.

[Demy]

Alright, maybe I should share my ideas for a second. I haven't actually tried to do this, but I might since I want to improve my writing (and my art). Of course that process of improvement will never end, but I am not yet at the level where I am, for lack of a better term, satisfied (as in ready to try stuff like writing comics I want to write, and do them well).

As mentioned before, it is important to make your that deeply flawed character human. An recent example I will pull is Jojo's Bizzare Adventure (Battle Tendancy specifically. Nothing wrong with the first part, a strong and solid foundation for the rest of the series). Stay with me here.

The Pillar Men are one of the villains of the series. Stay with me here. Their main objective is to become immune to the sun and basically become immortal gods. However, through actions like stopping a car from running over a dog (in the most over the top way possible), seeking revenge for their friend, and stuff I refuse to spoil for others....they become more believable than those mustache-twirling villains from saturday-morning cartoons. They aren't really sympathetic and there aren't really any character arcs to make them better people, but little moments like that do matter. They aren't sympathetic, but they are more interesting because of it.

Along with everyone else's advice, I just think its important that (especially if its a main character) they have redeeming qualities. Whether you want to give some to your villain or other characters is entirely up to you but your main characters absolutely must have some redeeming qualities. Even if they are a jerk. The story is about them after all. And we need some kind of reason to get behind them.

Also, this is a bit unrelated but having some little touches do matter. This video explains it better than I really could so here you go.

In my opinion, this also applies to basically any character. Its just kind of important to put these things onto villains as well.