The Antagonist as the Main Character

The main character in the series I'm currently writing just happens to be an antihero who thinks he's the good guy. He has traits of a villain, but he is the central character in the novel. Of course, he's not all bad and he has a good reason to mistrust others whom he believes want to steal something important from him.

 A sympathetic villain protagonist requires several traits that a writer must consider. He must be believable and adapt to changes, whether he wants to or not. His flaws come from a survival instinct and fear of discovery and he must have one or more endearing qualities. It's the consequences of discovery that motivates his vile actions. His secrets should be revealed gradually throughout the novel.

He doesn't necessarily need to dislike the people he betrays and he only kills when threatened. This does not apply to serial killers, but my antagonist isn't mentally unbalanced. A believable antagonist acts on his desires and is highly motivated by his fear of discovery. He must have a few sympathetic traits, such as loving animals. Birdman of Alcatraz fits into that category. Robert Franklin Stroud was convicted of manslaughter, but his love of birds helped him pass the time in prison.

Dr. Frankenstein's monster is probably the most misunderstood character. He's kind hearted and kills only when threatened. Even then, he feels remorse. Characters in the novel fear his frightening presence, but those who know him, fear for his safety.

A few novels with the antagonist as the main character are, Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux, the musical, Wicked, by Winnie Holzman, and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. All of these characters have a few good traits and a few manage to mend their evil ways.

When I was a child, one of my favorite characters was The Grinch, created by Dr. Seuss. Cold and Heartless, The Grinch doesn't want anyone to be happy and spends all of his time sabotaging the sunny community of Whoville. Of course, he mends his evil ways by the end of the story.

Creating a villain protagonist allows the writer to use other characters to oppose him.

Just remember that the protagonist must strike a cord of sympathy with the reader and become an anti-hero of sorts.

As an experiment, spend twenty minutes writing a villain protagonist. Who is he or she? Why did he become evil? Is he a hopeless cause or can he be redeemed?