Character Agency in Fiction
If you haven’t heard of the term ‘agency’ before, you’re not alone. I didn’t know anything about it until I began networking with other fiction editors and really digging deep into the craft of writing.
In today’s newsletter, you’ll learn…
✍🏼 Whether or not your main character has agency
🚩 Red flags to look for in your characters, scenes, and plot
🧩 My favorite piece of writing advice
What is ‘character agency’?
Character agency describes the protagonist’s ability to act and affect the events in the story.
In other words, character agency means the character is creating change through the choices they make. It’s up to you, as the writer, to decide whether that will be a positive or negative change.
Don’t freak out if your protagonist doesn’t begin the story with agency. What most readers, acquisition editors, and literary agents want to see is character agency to be present over the course of the novel.
Character agency can either wax or wane from beginning to end—that depends on the story you’re writing.
Does my protagonist have character agency?
For character agency to exist there needs to be motivation behind your character’s actions and choices.
If there is no rhyme or reason behind your character’s actions, then the plot becomes a series of “stuff that happens” and not a story.
Here are three red flags to look for:
3 Red Flags:
🚩 Put another character into the scene. Does it unfold the same way? If nothing changes, the protagonist isn’t propelling the plot, they’re following it.
🚩 Change the protagonist’s motivations. Does the scene play out the same? If it’s the same, the character’s motivations, goals, and wants don’t matter and aren’t progressing the plot.
🚩 Pretend to kill off your protagonist. Does the plot change? If it doesn’t, the characters aren’t affecting the plot.
The Solution? Spend time developing your characters. Once you nail down their goals, motivations, choices, and personality, they’ll be able to take charge of the narrative.
Note: You may have to adjust the plot a bit.
Improving Your Protagonist’s Agency
What I’m about to tell you is my favorite piece of writing advice. And the best part? It’s nearly applicable to all genres.
Ready? Here it is:
Ensure that the beginning of your story mirrors the resolution.
Decide where your protagonist is emotionally at the start and how they will be at the end. How will they change?
For example:
💋Romance: Will your protagonist go from swearing off men after a hundred first dates to finally finding the one?
🏰Fantasy: Will your protagonist begin as a lonely, out-of-place orphan sleeping under the stairs to become the chosen one?
🕵🏼♂️Mystery: Does your vigilante private eye protagonist believe he can uncover the secret to a hometown cold case (everyone thinks he’s a nut) and, in the end, finally find the killer and be celebrated by the town?
Knowing where your character starts and where they’re going will help you flesh out the plot along the way. Readers will relate better to a character they can identify with emotionally, and they’ll be more willing to turn the page.
Happy writing,
Kourtney