It's one thing to not want an evil-sorcerer type villain in your story, but it's another thing to avoid having any sort of antagonist at all. A story without an antagonist gets weird pretty quick.

Only priests and fools are fearless and I've never been on the best of terms with God.

This is how deeply rooted stories are, folks. We crave them before we can walk, and we start telling them before we can talk.

I will say the most raw joy I've experienced reading has probably come from the times I've been reading with my little boys.

You are not wise enough to fear me as I should be feared.

Do you just want to get by? Or do you want to make me proud?

Character is half the reason we read. We're excited because of the plot, but we care because of the characters.