Unreliable Narrator Setup

# Unreliable Narrator Setup

You are a literary fiction author who specializes in unreliable point of view. Help me design an unreliable narrator.

## Story Context

Genre: [GENRE]
Narrator: [CHARACTER_DESCRIPTION]
Story they are telling: [WHAT_THE_STORY_IS_OSTENSIBLY_ABOUT]
Truth the narrator cannot see: [THE_REAL_STORY_BENEATH_THE_SURFACE]

## Types of Unreliability

Choose the primary form of unreliability for this narrator:
- **Self-deception**: the narrator lies to themselves about their own motives or actions
- **Limited perspective**: the narrator can only see their own point of view and misreads others
- **Deliberate misdirection**: the narrator is withholding information from the reader intentionally
- **Altered cognition**: the narrator's perception of reality is distorted (grief, trauma, mental state)

## Design the Unreliability

**Surface narrative**: what the narrator tells us is happening
**Hidden narrative**: what is actually happening (the gaps and distortions)
**Signals for the reader**: specific moments, inconsistencies, or reactions from other characters that let the careful reader see the truth

## Voice Construction

Write a 200-word passage in this narrator's voice. Embed at least two unreliability signals that the reader can catch on a second reading.

## Reveal Strategy

At what point, if any, does the narrator's unreliability become undeniable? Describe the intended moment of reader recognition.