1. Define their core values: Before creating an anti-hero, understand their fundamental beliefs and what drives them in life.

2. Establish a compelling backstory: An engaging backstory will evoke sympathy from the reader and help explain the motivations of the anti-hero. It may include tragedy, betrayal, or a history of abuse.

3. Create moral ambiguity: Ensure the character’s actions are morally complex and not categorically evil or good. The audience should feel conflicted about whether to root for or against them.

4. Determine their unique skills or abilities: Every character should have strengths that set them apart from others. For an anti-hero, this could be exceptional intelligence, combat skills, or supernatural powers.

5. Develop a strong motivation: An anti-hero’s actions should be driven by powerful emotions or desires, such as revenge, ambition, or love for someone they care about deeply.

6. Focus on personal goals: Instead of fighting for a greater cause like traditional heroes, anchor your anti-hero’s motivations in their own self-interests and pursuits.

7. Limit the character’s empathy: While anti-heroes may care about certain people or issues, they generally lack a strong sense of empathy for others. This makes it easier for them to make morally questionable choices.

8. Create conflicting relationships: Develop complex relationships between your anti-hero and other characters in the story. These can range from friendly rivalries to enemies forced to work together for a common goal.

9. Present relatable flaws: To make your anti-hero more human and compelling, equip them with relatable flaws such as addiction, past mistakes, or emotional vulnerabilities.

10. Illustrate inner struggles: Along with external conflicts, show your anti-hero grappling with internal struggles that highlight their conflicted morality.

11. Offer moments of redemption: Occasionally allow your anti-hero to perform noble acts of goodness so that readers maintain a glimmer of hope for the character’s potential redemption.

12. Create consequences for their choices: Unlike traditional heroes, anti-heroes should face realistic consequences for their actions. This can result in setbacks, loss of relationships or trust, and even physical repercussions.

13. Balance likability and darkness: Strive to make your anti-hero compelling but not excessively evil so that readers remain invested in their story.

14. Show potential for growth: Provide instances where the anti-hero learns from their mistakes or faces challenges that could lead them towards redemption, even if they don’t ultimately change their ways.