: 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

@Debbie451

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Raise the stakes. Give him some urgent reason for doing something or being there. Take something away from him which he has to find, recover, or fix. Add a ticking clock.

Why is he visiting his half-sister now? Maybe their shared parent is
dying? Maybe he's dying?
Why is he going to the mountain? Maybe he's been diagnosed as missing
a soul, or his soul is dying, and something/one on the mountain can
fix that? Maybe he had a dream that he had to give a soul to someone
on the mountain, or he was told a prophecy?
Is there a deadline for getting off the mountain? The earthquake
from Eri's story? Foresters, clear-cutters, a flood, a plague?
What's the "something of utter importance"? Can you tie it to
something earlier in the story? Can you foreshadow something going on
with his wife, husband, child, job, dog, house which only this soulless person can fix?

I'm just riffing, but basically your protagonist is detached because he wandered into the plot. Give him a reason to be there.

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