Hello, I'm KH. This is the first time I'm posting, rather than replying. My question is this: What would be a unique trait for an Anti-Hero? I've always enjoyed flawed heroes, and downer endings. But lately I've wanted an Anti-Hero to call my own. I'll handle the name, but what I need is a trait that isn't widely used for this character arch-type. I'll take anything, from any taste. Shoot.
Please make sure it's not something that comes in remarkably handy later in a story. Like a 10 year old math whiz that knows about fibinachi sequences and its useful when they need to unlock a old secret government hangar in the antarctic, or the beautiful FBI agent whose been working on her NASCAR license and in the end has to outrun the pursuer down a twisty dirt road through the woods....how useful.....(I hated those books for that reason)
One who wants to be less "anti" and more heroic. A story about people trying to be better than the shades of grey in the world around them - even if it doesn't always work - is more interesting to me than a story about how striving for morality is "uncool". I still have a few episodes of Breaking Bad left, but in the 4.5 seasons that I've gotten through so far: Walter White the chemistry teacher starts out as True Neutral, Jesse Pinkman the street druggie starts out as Chaotic Neutral. As they come into conflict with more and more Evil villains, the two partners are increasingly driven to greater and greater acts of their own Evil in order to protect themselves. Walter becomes increasingly Neutral Evil as he decides that the damage he inflicts on the world around him is justified, but Jesse becomes increasingly Chaotic Good as he fights more and more desperately to make up for the damage he's already caused and to make sure that he never has to do any more. I like Jesse's story more than Walter's. (I actually found an article somewhere which said this a lot better than I can - and which used the same example that I like - but I can't find it now Does anybody know the one I'm talking about?)
Traits being useful isn't a bad thing. It's only a problem if it feels too convenient. Those examples don't sound too bad, though I'd have to read the books to see. What are those from?
If you just mean any kind of trait, the list is endless. If you mean a trait directly relevant to his anti-hero status, that's a more answerable question. A character who kills large numbers of other races/nations to saves his race/nation, a character who wants to be peaceful but has a nasty temper, a chracter who wants to be peaceful but has a vicious alternate personality/ is possesed by a vicious entity, a character who believes in some kind of blue and orange morality(morality that does not fit the stereotypical versions of good and bad and has odd metrics). Any of those catch your fancy?
Ice Station-Matthew Rielly (#1 in Shane Schofield series): I read it probably when it was released and I found it well done but there was that one thing. The survivors of the station attacks involved a family with a little girl who knew WAY WAY too much about math for a girl that young and was, of course, the only one that could unlock the secret coded door, using her math, out of all the other adult scientists. Also, I remember the attack scenes and the protagonist doing all kinds of things that anyone else, even Rambo himself, or even a cross fit world champion, would have had to stop for a breather about twenty zillion times. Otherwise it was a good adventure! Just annoying bits stuck out to me personally. Final Victim-Stephen J. Cannell: In the very beginning the beautiful agent, it's revealed, is only a few races away from her NASCAR license. #1 I was wondering the whole way through the story, that i recall was good, when that strangely revealed talent would be used, and wouldn't you know it near the end, she did use it and it was very helpful! Almost as if he needed her to not just escape but outdistance them for time reasons and had to write that in and then introduce the talent early on. It stuck out immediately. AND I must say I'm not sure he knew much about their competiton licensing. Nit Picking I know, but if I have something in my head that's weird, odd, too strange, from introducing characters and talents, then I'm looking for it to be used later on and of course it is. And, It's almost always used only once and as a solution to a seriously stuck moment. Not like it's something they were hired to do often. "Gosh, if only I had the exact Evinrude sized spark plug for this outboard motor, after waking up naked in the middle of a lake in a row boat, then I could rescue myself-well, would you look at what I just found around my wrist? My lucky spark plug I always wore as a necklace through High-School and College and nobody had a problem with it! And it's the perfect size!"
Anti-heroes are usually reluctant heroes. He could be a hero wanna-be that is overanxious to help and always screws up but manages to help nonetheless.
It all depends on his character. It can be virtually anything. Like...anything. He could be colour blind, impotent, homosexual, very short. English could be his second language. Just toke up some nice green and let the answers come to you
I have a friend that does that in her stories - whenever I've raised a question about something, she'd just "introduce" the convenient idea/object/whatever somewhere earlier on in the story, just the once - or other times not even "earlier on" but simply in the same scene, moments before the info would be needed. If you asked her anymore questions after that, she'd claim it's already been dealt with and ignore you. But for myself, because I can't bring myself to use conveniences like that, I often just get stuck and give up My friend's way, at least she has a few finished books... Sigh.
But, are they selling? Is there any money for the efforts? I suppose I refer to that method as incorrect when used blatantly. If she did it subtley one could get away with it but there is a point of where I drop the book in my lap and say out loud, "Oh, of course. come on!" and then pick it up again and find where I left off to see where the story goes but also to see if I have to drop the book a second time and never pick it up again.
Screw your friend. If they're doing it lazily, they aren't really superior because their sacrificing integrity.
@Rob40 - she's self-published and doesn't do much in terms of marketing/promotion. I know she's had a few readers and positive reviews (not from anyone she knows). Think she's probably sold some copies, but nothing significant that I'd consider her a successful author, in terms of doing it for money/career. She's prone to letting weird things happen and then explaining it later - I don't personally like that approach because then the events/reactions don't make sense to me. Her response is usually that I need to be more patient and that it's a good thing to do that because it keeps the reader asking questions and wanting to find out more. A book that did make me throw it down and go "Oh come on!" is Digital Fortress by our one and only Dan Brown Never could stand his writing even when I was a teenager and before I got critical about writing!
