I have a character who has pyrophobia due to losing their parents when their house burned down. They discover they have pyrokinetic abilities when they are older but struggle to use these abilities due to their pyrophobia. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Since they have pyrophobia, they'd probably try to avoid using their abilities as much as possible. Perhaps, put them in a situation where they HAVE to use their abilities? Like, they/someone is in danger, and they need to use their abilities to save them(self)?
I want them to struggle with this a few times throughout the story but I'm afraid my readers may get bored.
Slowly, their memory comes back and they realize they are the one who started the fire that killed their parents
That is a really good twist right there. If you go with it, save it for the very end. MC overcomes both the fear of fire and ultimately overcomes the grief it caused. Aside of the fire, what other elements does your plot include? Who's the antagonist, for instance?
Almost feels like they should realize that they were to blame early on. That way the story is about their overcoming this guilt. Perhaps there's a fakeout trajectory where they think some other force was to blame. In the end, it really turns out that they were to blame. That could be the later reveal, if you wanted to hold info back. I'd have fires start around them and they blame themselves. This happens over many chapters and many years. They realize at the end that they were meant to stop the fires, contain them somehow (this is decreed by Fate, or some mythology), and they always had the ability (with practice) to do this but were too afraid to step in. So in some way they are to blame for this continued destruction, but the blame lies in their inaction, not their presence near the scene. So they become an anti-firestarter. And that's their destiny. Of course they get to burn down things too. It'd be silly to avoid that because it seems like something readers would be eager to see. Edit: I said "blame" like 10 times up there, haha. I guess that's the theme.
My main antagonist is an ancient evil who wants to prevent him from fully using his abilities so that he(the ancient evil) can fully awaken.
I really like this, but I'm also thinking of them maybe believing themselves to be the blame, when it was actually the antagonist all along.
I like the memories part, I might use flash backs, dreams and certain events to build suspense and keep the protagonist and the readers in the dark.
What if the ancient evil WANTS the protagonist to awaken his power so that it could help the ancient evil? Fire, depending on the culture, is worshiped and feared. Your protag could be struggling with the evil inside of him (the need to burn, kill, destroy, rage) which is what the ancient evil wants to use him for. But he also wants to do good. Fire can be healing, a symbol of rebirth, strength, and its smoke raises spirits to the heavens. I also like the memory thing that was previously mentioned. The MC regains memory of his destructive nature and through the story feels the pull of destruction and rage. Give another instance of rage and destruction where the MC loses control. This would make him even more afraid to use the power..... But even more willing to find redemption.
