6 Tips How to Write the Lovable Jerk
Why oh why do we love the jerk?
It’s a common phenomenon.
“Girls like the bad boy.”
” Nice guys finish last.”
“Play hard to get.”
These are common phrases we know and here that revolve around the psychology of people liking jerks.
So how can we use this phenomenon in choosing and writing our characters?
How to write a lovable jerk
#1 Everyone Wants It, But Too Much is a Turn Off:
Confidence
Everyone wants it.
But nobody wants arrogance and there’s a fine grey line between the two (is it grey or gray?).
If your character is too confident then it comes across as arrogant and your reader will start to loathe them.
But one main reason most people like the jerk is because she is confident.
Confidence is a very attractive quality.
What is the opposite of confident?
– Needy
– Clingy
– Whining
– Pathetic
– Self-loathing
“Ewww…”
If you’ve been reading and a character is too sympathetic towards their own bad situation it comes across as unattractive. This is self-loathing, the opposite of cool, confident, and collected.
These are simple ways that you can write your lovable jerk. Avoid the above list.
Part of the reason people love a jerk is because without shouting “I’m really confident!” they just are. They ooze cool and confident because they aren’t afraid to say what they are thinking because they could care less what the other character thinks.
If your character is too confident this plays the opposite and your reader starts to despise that character.
We have to let the confident vibes go a little but then play some other strings too to bring the whole song together.
#2 Can’t Keep Up With Him
Quick Wit
Something that helps our jerk be admirable and get away with being a little bit of a jerk is having a quick wit.
Remember all those comebacks you thought of a day later and said “Ugh! I should have said that!”
Your lovable jerk is quick and never misses an opportunity for a quick comeback.
What’s at play here?
People admire and love to be around a person with an entertaining quick wit.
There is a give and take though. (Just remember that to nail down the lovable jerk you’re always on a fine line between annoying and suave, attractive and not so much.)
This doesn’t mean your character is running around insulting everyone. That’s a jerk, not a lovable jerk. Everyone loves to hate the know-it-all jerk and they want to see them get their comeuppance.
That’s the opposite of what you want your reader to feel about this character.
You want your character to be a bit of a jerk but at the right place and time.
Timing is important.
Think of Sherlock. Extremely intelligent and a faster mind than anyone he interacts with. He could dance circles around anyone with his wit, but utterly rude the majority of the time.
Even though he can be insultingly rude at times we still love him and want him to accomplish his goals.
We love him and find him interesting because he is fun to watch and extremely intelligent.
We also like him despite his jerky side for another reason.
#3 Good Will
Slightly good intentions
This works with anti-heroes too.
You can love a jerk like Sherlock because he ultimately is looking to stop the bad guys and save the innocent.
His internal motives may be complex, but at the end of the day his actions save the victim and stop the villain.
In a scenario like this we excuse bad behavior because we experience mostly good behavior.
We as humans are very good at overlooking some bad if the good outweighs it in our opinions.
For instance, if you made a list of pros and cons about a character like Sherlock his pros would outweigh his cons for most readers. Not all of course, but most.
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#4 We are Hoping He’s not as Deep as a Puddle
Character Depth
A lovable jerk can be nothing but a Jerk at the beginning of our reader meeting them, but if they don’t change slightly or if more about their character doesn’t get revealed by you the writer, as time goes on, your reader will never like them.
For example, Finnick from Hunger Games is a jerk character that many fans love.
It helps that he’s attractive but let’s take a deeper look. We all know looks can give you an advantage, but they can only take you so far before you’re labeled as an attractive, stuck up jerk.
When we first meet Finnick he’s just a jerk. Pain and simple.
But then we spend more time with him and find out he’s for the rebellion.
Further in we see multiple caring sides of him as he tries to protect all those around him. He carries an elderly handicap woman on his back to try to save her life.
His fiance is captured and turned crazy and he remains faithful to her. In the end he gives his own life for Katniss Everdeen and a cause bigger than himself.
Finnick may be stuck up and full of himself at first glance but with time we see his depth of character and that makes him a lovable jerk.
#5 Nobody Likes A Whiny Whiner
There’s a specific writing trick where you can add a sad incident or backstory to a character to gain some sympathy for the character.
Tread lightly with this one.
It can be easy to start with that or to drone on and on about how terrible and tragic their unfortunate event is, but don’t do this.
If you are going for a lovable jerk something bad or many bad things can happen to them, but they need to react correctly in order for your reader to feel positively for them.
Unless you use it as humor or a small arc in their story they can’t wallow in sadness for an entire chapter or two. Humorously they can wallow a little, but realistically it can push your reader away from that character if you’re not careful.
If you want them to be lovable they can only mourn for a moment or for a time that the reader can fast forward through.
For example, “he drank himself to sleep every night that year.” And done.
Okay, realistically we can give a few more fun facts about their depression than just that, but soon and very soon something that sparks change needs to take place.
You can use sadness for depth of character but if your jerk is to be loved, make it short.
Another way to use tragedy in your jerk’s life is to make him get over it quickly and to move on.
This can be helpful for creating character depth as well.
#6 “I’ve Been Looking at the Man in the Mirror”
Change
One really easy way to write a lovable jerk is to create a character that is about to make a BIG change.
We’ve seen this done many, many, many, many (if you didn’t know, it’s been done a lot) times and it works out equally well despite maybe being a little over done.
One of the major monarchs of this type of lovable jerk is Scrooge.
Scrooge is an iconic lovable jerk that starts out as… well… he starts out as a Scrooge (pun intended) but we see a transformation in his character and in the end he’s super generous.
Another good example is Jack in The Family Man.
Jack leaves his high school sweetheart for riches and success.
When we meet him he’s so high on the high horse that we couldn’t stand to be around him, but as the story goes on he completely changes into a really awesome character.
This type of transformation, redemptive story is a great way to make a lovable jerk.
Hope this helps!
Happy writing!
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How to Write the Lovable Jerk
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