Writing Stories with Characters Who Have Limited Agency
What Is Agency, Anyway?
Agency in storytelling is the ability of a character to make meaningful choices that influence the direction or outcome of the story. Characters with agency actively pursue goals, solve problems, and adapt to challenges. Think about your favorite protagonists — Katniss Everdeen, Frodo Baggins, or Elizabeth Bennet: they don’t sit on their backsides waiting for something to happen.
They act.
But what happens when your characters don’t have agency? It’s a common pitfall for new writers: a character drifts through the plot — they might even be paralyzed, simply an observer in a world unfolding around them — reacting passively to events rather than making choices that cause outcomes. Instead of shaping their journey, characters without agency allow the story to happen to them. And readers notice.
Character agency is a character's capacity to make decisions. It’s a fundamental element in writing short stories and flash fiction because it defines how the character drives the narrative forward and interacts with the plot and themes. Agency:
Engages the Reader: Agency creates dynamic characters who actively shape their destiny rather than passively reacting to events. Readers are more likely to connect with characters who demonstrate initiative and resolve.
Drives the Plot: In short stories and flash fiction, where space is limited, every action must serve a purpose. Character agency ensures that the protagonist's choices efficiently propel the story toward its climax and resolution.
Develops Character Depth: Characters with agency reveal their motivations, values, and flaws through their decisions. This allows writers to craft memorable characters, even within the constraints of shorter works.
Strengthens Themes: Character decisions often reflect the story’s central themes. A character’s agency can be used to meaningfully explore moral dilemmas, societal issues, or personal growth.
Builds Tension and Conflict: Agency introduces stakes. When a character’s decisions have visible consequences, it creates tension and a sense of urgency, keeping readers invested in the story.
Agency in Short Stories and Flash Fiction
In short forms where every word counts, character agency is particularly critical.
For example, a protagonist might face a pivotal decision determining the story's trajectory. Their response not only moves the plot but also encapsulates their personality and arc within the story’s brief span. Their decision may encapsulate the entire premise of the story.
Characters with agency are the engine of compelling storytelling. By focusing on their ability to act, choose, and affect change, writers create short stories and flash fiction that resonate profoundly and linger in readers' minds.
Why Lack of Agency Feels Weak
Characters without agency can come across as shallow or uninteresting. It’s hard to root for someone along for the ride. When characters don’t drive action and outcomes, your story loses momentum and risks becoming predictable or dull. The reader wonders, “Why should I care about this person if they don’t seem to care about themselves?”
Let’s say you’re writing a story about a young wizard, Aria, who’s been chosen to save the kingdom. If Aria spends most of the story shuffled from one mentor to another, listening to advice but never stepping up to make a critical decision, she feels less like a hero and more like a plot device. Nobody wants to read about Aria.
A character can be stripped of their agency — locked up in a cage, incapable or unwilling to make choices — but even thought is a choice. Even thinking about escaping the cage adds momentum to a story.
How to Fix It
Give Them Choices. Even if your character is constrained, there’s always room for choice. These don’t have to be monumental decisions; small moments of agency can still create impact.
Align Goals and Obstacles. What does your character want? What’s stopping them? Make their choices meaningful by tying them to the plot.
Embrace Failure. A character doesn’t need to succeed at everything, but their attempts to solve problems should drive the story forward.
Balance Powerlessness with Growth. If your story requires your character to have limited agency, make it a thematic choice. Maybe their arc is about reclaiming power or learning how to assert themselves.
Make Limited Agency Work for You
Sometimes, limiting a character’s agency can serve a story’s purpose — like highlighting oppressive systems or exploring themes of helplessness. In such cases, focus on internal agency, like that thought I mentioned earlier, or have them perform an act of resistance. Even if your character can’t control external events, show how they process, resist, or adapt internally.
For instance, a protagonist stuck in an authoritarian society might be unable to topple the regime, but they can make small rebellions or wrestle with their beliefs. That act of contention (conflict) while processing their beliefs is also agency. The key is making them feel active even when their circumstances restrict them.
Final Thoughts
Remember that readers connect with characters who try.
Even when your character’s agency is limited, and all hope is lost, let your characters struggle, make choices, and grow. That’s what makes them feel alive. That’s what makes them relatable.
R
