What with James Bond, Jason Bourne, Frederick Forsyth, Vince Flynn novels etc... it seems like assassins have been well represented in fiction over the years.

I'm trying to come up with something fresh but I need some help building the lead character.

My question is two-fold:
a) what would you say are the clichés of assassin fiction to be avoided?
b) what are those essential elements all assassin fiction needs?

thanks.

Make him nervous and unstable. Twitchy and all of that. that would make a hell of an assassin. And let him have the opinion that if he is supposed to kill someone, he must do it while looking the victim in the eyes, not 500 yards away looking in a snipe-scope.

Originally posted by FejkNick
And let him have the opinion that if he is supposed to kill someone, he must do it while looking the victim in the eyes, not 500 yards away looking in a snipe-scope.

Love it. Something noble and magnanimous about it.

As for him being twitchy and nervous - would the reader believe someone like that could be an assassin?

Write what you know, and what you don't know, research, research, research.
Seek out and talk to trained Special Forces veterans for material. Get permission to use, or build on their own real life combat stories and have them sign a release.
Visit convicted murderers in prison to get another perspective from someone that's actually killed someone.
Visit and talk to butchers, getting to know the smells and sounds of meat and blood.
Make your character admirable, but flawed; someone you want to know, or be, or have sex with, but with complications, problems, internal or external issues like a disfigurement, or a strange phobia.

Have you published anything in the past?
Do you have an agent?
If not, keep your work between 60k - 100k word count or it'll get filed in the trash bin when you query agents.
When done, revise, revise, revise, and then hire an editor for a few thou to tell you where to revise again.

best of luck.

Make him imperfect. Assassins have always been portrayed as superhuman, ice-cold megaminds. Real hitmen aren't.

Smart people rarely become hired guns. Don't make him out to be to smart.

Don't make him a hero. The effective killers are ruthless, gritty and without morals.

Make him believable. No one can survive a firefight aginst the odds we see in movies.

The hitman buisiness is not romantic or poetic. Show him in a bad light.

Real hitmen are generally violent and impulsive, not cold and calculating.

Remember where he comes from. Real hitmen mostly come from poor backgrounds, and have experience in robbery, drugs and prostitution. Many use drugs to give them the guts you need to kill someone in cold blood.

Real hitmen are emotionally screwed up. They can't have normal retions/relationships with other people. They have abbysal flaws, and real weaknesses.

make it more realistic.
the assasin would probably have had a difining experience that made him/her an assasin.
that experience might have given the assassin emotional problems.
what weapon is his/her speciality.
my idea:
have a brittish assassin but dont make him as cocky and annoying as bond.
a killer is less likely to be charismatic. he'd need a real job to please the taxman, something with few hours.
dependant on nicotine patches and public transport. but this idea may not work as the main character, maybe it will.

Pet store owner.
No Joke.
Pet store owners are creepy.
Every single one I've met is creepy.
Someone who should be so nice and kind - but all in all is just out to pimp those cute little puppies and kittens for money.
Yeah. A pet store owner.
And make is a woman.

Thank you for all the great advice.

But here's the thing - I'm not too concerned about realism. I'm not creating literary art, I'm writing entertainment. I've no pretensions. James Bond and Jason Bourne are totally unrealistic, but entertaining as hell.

I understand, however, that even the most fantastic characters must be rooted in reality.