[Music] Hi, I'm Cam Wland. Whether your book is a high-speed espionage thriller or a cozy romance, the element at its heart, the fuel that makes it run, is action. Something is happening to your protagonist, presumably the something of his life.
If not, why tell the story? And yet, the pitfall of a passive protagonist can be easier to fall into than you might think. Sometimes authors create characters to whom things happen without also creating elements that allow them to act back in forceful and decisive ways.
For example, in a science fiction novel I read recently, the protagonist, the only human among powerful aliens, is forced into a reactive role from the beginning of the book right up until the very end. He stands at the center of the plot's swirl of exciting activities, which include assassination attempts, political intrigue, and strange intruders. But the protagonist himself doesn't do anything.
He stands helplessly aside while other more capable characters take care of business offscreen. The result, needless to say, is a dull and frustrating read. If you find your character spending more time reacting than acting, if he stands on the sidelines while other characters chew into the meat of the action, you may want to seriously reconsider the choices you made about both your plot and your character.
Because readers want to be right in the thick of the action, authors need to choose characters who can take them there. Try making your passive protagonist take a more active role. or if that simply isn't an option, consider adding a few more POVs to show the action from the perspective of characters who are involved in it.
Not only will your book take on more heft and significance, it will also be that much more likely to hold your reader's attention throughout.
