: Re: I feel my protagonist is too "detached" from the main plot. What should I do? Here's a summary of the plot: The main character goes to a mountain to visit his half-sister. He hasn't seen
In short: why does any of this matter to him?
Beyond that it's his sister, what is his personal motivation in the story?
A good ABC for character involvement are Disney films, as they often demonstrate the differences between what a character wants and needs.
Aladdin:
Want - to become rich, have security and marry Jasmine, who he's in love with
Need - to stop pretending to be someone else so he can be with Jasmine as himself
King Triton:
Want - to stop Ariel getting involved with humans and stop her getting hurt
Need - to let Ariel be free to live her own life
In other words, the character's actions often derive from their 'want' - what they believe will make them happy. Eventually they have an epiphany and do something that will genuinely resolve their conflict.
So with the above synopsis: does the hero want to find his siblings to reconnect with them? Why does he want to help the mysterious girl?
What emotional want is he trying to meet by getting actively involved in the story? He'll be a participator if at each step his actions are clearly driven by some personal fulfilment.
And if you like you can turn the want into a need and show what he was really missing the entire time.
[Your mileage may vary depending on the genre of your fiction, but if we care about what the protagonist is doing because he cares about what he's doing, that's a good start]
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