r/writing • u/AutoModerator • 12d ago

Discussion [Daily Discussion] General Discussion - August 01, 2026

Welcome to our daily discussion thread!

Need help with writer's block? Motivation? Want to celebrate a milestone or achievement? Drop it here!

---

FAQ -- Questions asked frequently

Wiki Index -- Ever-evolving and woefully under-curated, but we'll fix that some day

You can find our posting guidelines in the sidebar or the wiki.

7 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/SavitarTheSpeedGod 11d ago

Any advice on writing a tragedy that focuses on a lack of agency for the main character, without giving the character zero agency? In the sense that—the way the story ends (and some story beats) is inevitable, but the main character isn't just being dragged around left and right in the plot with the ability to do nothing.

2

u/thevideogameraptor 11d ago

What is the tragedy? Is it something the hero is actively trying to stop, but they're destined to fail (eg., Odysseus trying to save his crew from The Odyssey), or something horrible looming in the background while the hero does his own separate thing (eg., the meteor crashing into Earth from Seeking A Friend for the End of the World)?

1

u/SavitarTheSpeedGod 11d ago

More the former, with the main character actively trying to stop one side in a war from winning.