This week I want to talk about anti-heroes.

In this morally ambiguous time, it’s no longer popular to write about classic heroes who are purely good and righteous. I mean, where’s the fun in that? Gone are the days of swashbucklers like Ivanhoe and Robin Hood. Even the most recent incarnation of Superman has a gritty, brooding veneer.

However, you may be wondering…

What is an anti-hero?

An anti-hero is a protagonist who is flawed, but in a way that the reader can still sympathize with the character.

There are plenty of examples from modern fiction like Wolverine of the X-Men or John McClane in Die Hard. But anti-heroes are nothing new.

The classics are chock-full of anti-heroes like Scarlett O’Hara and Philip Marlowe. Even Shakespeare wrote intriguing anti-heroes like Othello and Hamlet.

So, you’re probably asking, “How do I