Unlikeable Likeable Characters

How do create characters that are unlikebale not so much that are horrribly written but incredibly written that you jsut love to hate them? I trying to think or create story about anti heroes or heroes that try their best often times they fail miserably. I wanted to see them as humans who try their best but cannot seem to live up to the hero standard with crippling flaws and weaknesses that prevent them from being remotely heroic. The most notorious I can think of is Shinji Ikari who in the eyes of many of his fans and hater cannot seem to measure up to the likes Guy, Kamina and Domon Kasshu yet is well written character.

How can create characters who are unlikeable but well written in the sense where the reader can say, "I may not like X character did but at least it makes sense" without falling into flanderization? And how do I do it without alienating the readers?

Two Words: Smug Snake.

Seriously, if you want to make a villain people love to hate, these guys really do have no equal.

Not sure about creating other characters the audience hates, though. It may be too subjective to really gauge.

Two more words: Magnificent Bastard.

It's pretty easy to have good characters that are bad people. Just make sure that they're interesting. A Boring Invincible Hero is a good person but a bad character; a villain that makes you say Only The Author Can Save Us Now is a bad character and a bad person. Think of your characters as people rather than plot devices — you need a villain to oppose the hero, yes, but why is the villain opposing the hero? "Because he's the villain" makes for a bad character.

If you're looking for antagonists that aren't actually villains, then you're looking for Hero Antagonist, White And White Morality (or Grey-and-Grey Morality depending on how much of an Anti-Hero you're using), Worthy Opponent, Noble Demon, etc.

To speak from the place of being someone who once did this by accident—long story—an even mixture of sympathy and revulsion can go a long way. One must be careful, however, to avoid giving said character an easy out psychologically; otherwise, you may find yourself writing someone too identifiable to be hate-worthy.

edited 31st Mar '11 8:26:33 AM by JHM

I want to turn off people when I say, "You are not going to like these characters" as my disclaimer but is it really a turn off?

That is exactly what I am looking for. Thanks.

edited 31st Mar '11 8:31:10 AM by G.G.

You can try making them horrible yet three dimensional

Trying for a specific audience reaction is a crapshoot, you really can't predict how people will react to a given thing.

I wrote a character who was like this for me, though. If I met her, I'd absolutely detest her, and I kept having to write her saying hurtful things to characters I liked and identified with. But she was a consistent character whose reactions made sense, and I used her as a way to humanize some ideas I have personal issues with. (She's a fundamentalist Christian Vampire Detective, who sees Christianity through medieval eyes.) Some other people, reading this story, might think she was in the right, or might think I'd written her badly, or something. But for me, I was proud of being able to write her so well even though I didn't like the kind of person she was. Plus, I feel sorry for her, since she goes through a lot of pain (much of it somewhat self-induced).