So, I have spent the last several days going through potential “What if” scenarios and premises for my first book and the series as a whole, but almost all of them shared one problem: They were all about what happened to my hero – her situation – and did not give her any positive action or goal besides avoiding a nasty fate.
That’s not going to work.
I still like the concept of my hero being accused of a crime she didn’t commit and the conspiracy behind it, but that only makes my hero a victim – and it might be why my last attempt at this story failed. She had no basic action to get back at them. I wasn’t even sure what she was going to do in the end.
It’s a pretty significant difference if I say that my hero “uncovers the truth behind the conspiracy that resulted in the king’s death” or if I say that she “fights back against rival usurpers to restore the throne.” Both actions could lead to the same conclusion in the end, but the one I choose changes how the story gets there and everything that happens in between.
Right now, I’m leaning toward the conspiracy.