Writing Arrogance

With such a large pool of talented writers here, I wondered if any of you have written an arrogant character in one of your stories and have tips or suggestions for expressing their arrogance across the written page.

I ask because I have a male character whom I first wrote into a story in 2021 using online arrogance tips. Now I want to rewrite him and try, if possible, to get that arrogance across to the reader in a better way.

My story Texas Toast had an arrogant male character. I wrote it from a female(ish.... just read the story) perspective, so she often commented on the male's arrogance and how much she disliked the guy. Apart from that, it came out (as most character traits do) in dialogue and action. One thing I'd keep in mind is that arrogant people rarely think of themselves as arrogant, but confident. There's usually some lack of self-awareness.

Quote by Just_A_Guy_You_Know

My story Texas Toast had an arrogant male character. I wrote it from a female(ish.... just read the story) perspective, so she often commented on the male's arrogance and how much she disliked the guy. Apart from that, it came out (as most character traits do) in dialogue and action. One thing I'd keep in mind is that arrogant people rarely think of themselves as arrogant, but confident. There's usually some lack of self-awareness.

Thank you for your help, Just_A_Guy_You_Know. I will study your story.

Gavin McClain, the main character of a series by Jaymal certainly fits the bill. This is a good starting point here.

I've played with arrogance a few times. Although it's a fairly big story, the lead in The Five-Year Silence is fairly arrogant as he and the reporter verbally spar.

My Ryan character is pretty confident around women too. Though the stories are nearly a decade old and showing their age in terms of style, there are some signs of his assuredness in 151 Reasons. Similarly, the guy in my Tabby: Cheating Colleague series is quite sure of himself.

And one you've read, told from a female with attitude, is Where Angel Dared To Tread.

As JAGYK implies, the key to it is confidence. Both in the character's actions and speech, but also in the narrative. Look at how the sentences and observations are constructed. They're often short, sharp, and to the point, which gives the character a shrewd, all-seeing vibe that translates into sharpness and a seen-it-all-before attitude. This is used a lot in Fate Into Doubt Won't Go.

Hope that helps but Jaymal does it way better than me so go there first.

Edit: AvidlyCurious beat me to it haha.

Thank you for the pointers; I do appreciate the help and will read all the suggested stories. 😊

I do feel that getting arrogance across on the written page is fairly difficult to do well, and I hope to improve on what I have already written. BTW, it is unlikely the chapter with the arrogant man will appear here until next year.