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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/37683
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/37683
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

At the heart of every story is a choice about values. The protagonist is brought to a point where they must choose between two things they value. This requires the ability to actually make the choice and accept the consequences. That much agency at least is required.

On the other hand, there must be limits to the character's agency as well, since if their agency were unencumbered, they would not be forced to make the choice that they don't want to make. If they could have their cake and eat it too, they would.

So, story requires a limit on the character's agency that forces them to choose between having their cake and eating it, but sufficient agency to choose between having the cake and eating it. And that agency to choose cannot come out of nowhere. The reader reads in anticipation of this choice, and so they require evidence both that there are limits on agency that will make the choice hard, and sufficient agency to make the choice possible.

If you know what the central moral choice of your story is, you should be able to deduce from that what level of agency your characters require to demonstrate the capacity to choose and the inevitability of having to choose.

Original score: 7