A character wants something they can’t have, and they do everything within and even beyond their capacity to get it. That’s the core of dramatic narrative, and we’ve all read it and seen it countless times. In life, though, the “can’t have” often wins. You can dream of traveling the world chasing love or food or surf or supervillains, but most of us choose to stay home and handle our business. In fiction, if characters like that are seen at all, they’re side players, operating as plot devices or cautionary tales for the protagonist, because they’re not sacrificing everything to...