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Q&A Can the protagonist lose his strength without losing the reader?

Part of why we read fiction is to learn something by going through an experience with the character --that's what makes identifying with the character important. For someone to lose what they and o...

posted 9y ago by Chris Sunami‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T04:39:18Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/19115
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Chris Sunami‭ · 2019-12-08T04:39:18Z (about 5 years ago)
Part of why we read fiction is to learn something by going through an experience with the character --that's what makes identifying with the character important. For someone to lose what they and others have always felt is their core strength is a real experience, and one that could be compelling to go through in fiction --if it resolves in a way that feels real, not fake.

For that reason, I disagree with your comment that it is _not advisable._ If the overall message of your book is "just give up," I'd personally find that off-putting. But if the lesson is "sometimes we try so hard that we get in our own ways," that's something I could find valuable as realized in a fictional context.

(Possible other lessons: _we all need help sometimes_, _no one makes it entirely on his/her own,_ or _even when you're at your personal lowest, all hope is not gone_)

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2015-09-24T16:12:36Z (about 9 years ago)
Original score: 7