Agency vs. Autonomy

Agency vs. Autonomy

As part of my ongoing quest to improve my craft, I’ve been doing a lot of reading and watching videos on the craft of writing.

I enjoy the ones from Overly Sarcastic Productions, and there are lots of others.

My own longer perspective gives me more of an appreciation of just how much of a golden age for writers we live in today in the 21st Century. I can remember when writing was done with a typewriter and research meant getting yourself physically to public library. The Internet wasn’t even science fiction, or at least any that I was able to get my hands on and read by lantern light (no, not hyperbole).

However, I digress. Back to business.

Agency, in the sense it is being used here, is a character’s ability to affect events. In a fictional context a character’s agency can range from zero to pretty much unlimited. A newborn baby or young child has zero agency, or as near to it as makes no matter. At the other end of the scale, Superman has unlimited agency, can fly faster than light, travel in time, and so forth.

This can lead to situations where the amount of agency a character has is more than meets the eye.

As an example, in the last volume of the police procedural series, Moriarty the crime lord was convicted of murder and sentenced to prison for life. As a lifer in a high security prison cell, it’s pretty easy to assume his agency has been reduced to a harmless level. Except, his criminal empire still responds to the orders he issues from his jail cell, so the stalwart team of cops and prosecutors who put him there still have to watch their backs, because he’s a vindictive sort.

All of which leads into the concept of badassery. Badass heroes and villains are going to have a pretty significant degree of agency and the skill and will to use it. Most important, though, is the autonomy they have in using it. The typical badass has few if any restraints that aren’t self-imposed.

Physical force isn’t the only form of badass agency, either, though it is one of the commonest, especially in action and adventure stories. A character’s skill set will determine what sort of badass he or she can be. A political operative who is a trusted advisor to a powerful leader will have a good deal of agency even if he has no actual authority.

The amount of agency a character has will affect events only if it is used, and the amount of autonomy the character has in using it matters a lot to their effect on the story. A police officer or a soldier may have a lot of agency at his disposal, the resources of a large and powerful organization. He will also have very strict rules on how, when and against whom he can use it, and serious consequences for breaking those rules.

Limits on autonomy can take a number of forms. One is internal. If a superhero is curled up in a ball dealing with a crisis in his personal life, his autonomy in using his powers is sharply reduced for however long his Dark Night of the Soul may last.

If the author wants to cause a crisis for the character, just reduce his agency, autonomy, or both. There are all kinds of ways to do this, as appropriate to the character and the world he inhabits.

As an example, early on in the Harry Potter series, Harry gets the gift of the invisibility cloak. This increases his autonomy by quite a bit. He can get out of the dorm and the castle with relative impunity, and into places he isn’t supposed to be.

Autonomy, coupled with ingenuity and resourcefulness, can compensate for lack of agency. There are many examples throughout the Harry Potter series, and many others as well. The smart, ingenious underdog is a very well used trope, and a very attractive one.

This is my way of thinking about what can and can’t be done by a character in the story I’m writing. My two cents.