Agency

I recently started listening to a podcast called “Start with This“. It’s about creative writing and is produced by the same guys who write “Welcome to Nightvale“, so it’s worth a look.

The show itself is pretty neat, because they explain a specific aspect of writer’s craft, but then they give you 2 assignments to help solidify it. One assignment is for “consuming” and the other is for “creating”:

• Consume: They assign a story to read/watch/listen to, which is usually a good example of whatever they were talking about.
• Create: They assign a writing prompt or some other task that requires you to do whatever they were talking about.

I recently listened to a great SWT episode about Agency. The purpose of this article is to briefly explain “agency” in the context of creative writing, and then to publish my attempt at the “Create” assignment, which is a writing prompt.

What is Agency?

Agency is the ability of a character to freely make choices and affect the storyline.

New writers sometimes have a tendency to create a main character that “things just happen to”, meaning most of the inciting conflict comes from external/seemingly random sources. In that type of story, the only role of the protagonist is to deal with their environment as it comes. This is good in moderation, but for a truly interesting, dynamic character, the reader must sense that the protagonists has control over the outcome.

Character-driven stories accomplish this by looping the following arc:

1. Something happens to the character
2. The character makes a decision to deal with it
3. The situation changes as a result, possibly causing more problems.
4. The character grows.

The podcast discusses agency in detail, so I recommend you check it out. I embedded the audio below, but you can find it on this page if it doesn’t work.

The “Create” Assignment

The following is a summary of the writing prompt proposed in the episode. After that I will post my attempt. If you want to try it, feel free to post your response in the comments on on their community forum.

Write a 200-400 word story about a super-spy who’s in some sort of pinch, and makes a decision in order to escape. Clearly show the problem, their decision, the consequences, and any growth.

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My Prompt Response: The Pain Game

Dr. Mazotis lowered his thin, bony head down to mine, the semblance of a cruel smile filling his lips. “Oh!” he proclaimed, “So that’s how we’re going to play this?” He stood up and sheathed his dagger. “Fair enough.” 

He nodded to an unseen accomplice, and soon a searing pain found the top of my head. It was the purest pain I’ve felt in a long time. The liquid agony rolled down my neck as the stench of burning flesh filled the room. My brain stem was on fire.

But I did not move. No screaming, no writhing, not even a gasp. I tightened my body and ate that pain, my eyes still trained on Mazotis. He stepped back in surprise, looking to his goons for reassurance.

There were 5 of them. 4 in the front, one in the back. I knew I could take them. A Navy seal of 20 years against a few gun-totin’ peons? Please.

My inner berserker was begging, but I managed to beat it back. “Mazotis will get nothing.”, I reminded myself. No satisfaction, nothing to latch on to. His cruel lips were withering by the second, like a flower in a forgotten vase. “A little longer” I thought.

Someone broke the silence, “Maybe we should get going, boss.” Dr. Mazotis considered a moment. “Alright.” He smiled, but it was hollow. “I guess he’ll meet his death in silence…  fitting.” 

He looked once more for a reaction, but I was blank. He would, indeed, get nothing. The group dithered out the room, the last one throwing the bolt. 

I slowly stood, pulling my arms forward. The restraints had slipped long ago. My shoulders cracked as I checked the time: my ride will be here in 5 minutes.

But they left 4 minutes early, so now I have plenty of time to escape this shit-hole. Anger management issues, my ass.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed and learned something about writing!