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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/47971
License name: CC BY-SA 4.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/47971
License name: CC BY-SA 4.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

It sounds like you don't really know what kind of story you want to be telling.

The story of a ruthless psychopath cutting her way towards the throne, is very different from the story of a sweet girl rising through society as the reader gradually realizes how disquieting and heartless she really is; a story of building horror. Different again is a story which shows us her kindly public face, but lets shadowy coincidences and odd notes build up, until we finally get a big reveal that her kindliness is a facade.

None of these versions is "right" or "wrong"; **the _sequence of events_ might be identical.** But those are different stories, in different genres -- and those are hardly the only two options you've got.

You need to figure out which story you're interested in. What the central stakes are going to be; what the driving force is; what the reader is meant to find compelling. Is your protagonist going to be someone you're shocked by, or someone you're addicted to? Someone you love, or someone you hate? Someone you always knew was dangerous, but didn't know how much, or somebody who breaks your heart into smithereens? Each of these, fundamentally, is a different story.

Try this: try casting your story into "beginning, middle, end." Just a line or two each; boil it down to its barest bones. Is it:

> Beginning: Protagonist is a nobody;  
> Middle: she manipulates her way into prestige and power;  
> End: she takes over the whole universe

Or more like:

> Beginning: Protagonist works to make the world better and acheives some initial victories;  
> Middle: As she gains power, we see she's kind of creepy, and maybe always has been;  
> End: OK she's been a psychopath all along, angling to be crowned Empress, and she succeeds

Or: Something else! It's your book and your story! Figure out what's the story's core **for you**. And that will help you figure out what role the protagonist, and her pathology, should be playing.

Original score: 6