One of my favorite authors P D Atkerson writes books where the MC is part villain. Most of them have a con artist type character and a law enforcement character as the MCs. I really want to do that too but have the protagonist be a criminal genius and do a side POV with a law enforcement agent. I was wondering if it’s possible though because the MC would be morally corrupt. I’ve been trying to get inspo from my favorite author (she does it really well) but I wondered if anyone had any tips on how I could do this without reinforcing bad things. I don’t want to condone anything the protagonist does unless it’s morally right or at least something that we would applaud. So far most of the things he does are bad. I am going to have him go straight in the end but I need some help while he’s still on the bad side.
Hey Sara, I think this is a great question! Some of my favorite stories involve morally gray MCs, so I think this can definitely be done.
I would say that there are two major things you should keep in mind when accomplishing this.
First, I’d make sure you have a really good “Save The Cat” moment. Make sure, at the beginning of your story, that you really show that your MC is, down in the depths of their being, capable of good or making the correct moral choice. This will really set the readers opinion of the MC from the beginning, and will help us stay connected to the MC as we watch them complete their moral journey!
Secondly, your character doesn’t have to do things that you would condone yourself as the author. Just because the MC does something doesn’t mean it’s the right thing or even a good thing to do or that the authors themselves condone it. I wouldn’t be afraid to just fully push into the moral journey your character is on, especially if they do decide to be moral by the end of the story.
There are many really great examples of this, but I would say Tony Stark from Iron Man is a great one to pay attention to. He is very morally corrupt at the beginning of the movie (he sells weapons to the Government, after all). But, by the end, he’s decided to completely change everything about the way his business works and is run. Another great resource to look at is the Artemis Fowl book series! I think Eoin Colfer does this really well. 🙂
I think, so long as you have a good “Save The Cat” moment, you can really run anywhere with this story!
