the unreliable narrator

gettingby · Jan 9, 2015

How often do you use an unreliable narrator in your short stories and what are the benefits of having one? This is something I want to play around with, but I'm not 100 percent sure I'm doing it right. How can I make sure the reader knows the narrator is unreliable? My current story is written in close third.

I workshopped a story once that was written in first and many people thought that I had intentionally made the character an unreliable narrator. That had not been my intention, and it changed the whole story for people who thought that. I don't think it was a bad way to interpret the story, it just made it kind of a different story.

How clear do you need to make it that a narrator is reliable or unreliable? And how do you make this clear?

Jamesaritchie · Jan 9, 2015

I really dislike intentionally unreliable narrators, so I never intentionally use one. All first person narrators are, however, unreliable to some extent, and this is what I rely on. Just as readers saw your first person narrator as unreliable, I prefer to just write the narrator as best I can, and let readers make the judgment.

Ken · Jan 9, 2015

I will be honest with you !

It is such a struggle just to make narrators reliable and believable and engaging etc etc etc that making them unreliable on top of that all and kinda undoing what you've done and making it all work out right is just too much for me to even consider. Maybe you just have to have the knack for it. Or maybe you just have to be very good, period.

That said, I do enjoy reading novels with unreliable narrators. Usually, the authors seem to approach that subtly. Some readers, possibly quite a few, may miss the unreliability. That's fine.

Sycamore · Jan 10, 2015

I love unreliable narrators. The key thing is subtlety. There can only be a few hints, a few things that sound a little off key. Until the point where you're ready for the twist to be revealed or the reader is already on board and aligned with the narrator.

I think novels allow a chance to explore the unreliable voice better than short stories. I can suggest a few examples if you want.

Many years ago, I wrote a short story with an unreliable narrator and it did very well. It revolved around a secret that was hiding in plain sight.

Sycamore · Jan 10, 2015

I meant to add that the benefits is that it can bring a thrill to the reader when they begin to suspect and when this is confirmed.

It is also something to have fun with while writing.

buirechain · Jan 10, 2015

gettingby said:
I workshopped a story once that was written in first and many people thought that I had intentionally made the character an unreliable narrator. That had not been my intention, and it changed the whole story for people who thought that. I don't think it was a bad way to interpret the story, it just made it kind of a different story.

I had the opposite problem with one of my stories. I thought the narrator was clearly unreliable, and then one of my readers thought that the reveal hadn't been properly prepared (actually, I wasn't even particularly trying to hide that the narrator was unreliable, I was trying to hide what was driving the conflict of the story by the narrator's unreliable interpretations).

In that case I ended up having to do two things; one, the narrator was a captain of a ship--I had to make it clear that her business, while technically legal, was highly disreputable, and thus her position of authority shouldn't make her reliable. I also had to change phrases here and there to make it clear that she was interpreting events (part of the problem was that I was making my reader wonder how the hell this character could know certain facts about another characters--facts that turned out to be false)

Ultimately, I'd say if you want to learn how to do it, spend time writing those stories and getting feedback and how well it succeeded, and then drafting the story until you get it right. Eventually you'll learn how to succeed most of the time without needing beta reader help. Short fiction is really great for that kind of experimentation.

gettingby · Jan 11, 2015

Jamesaritchie said:
I really dislike intentionally unreliable narrators, so I never intentionally use one. All first person narrators are, however, unreliable to some extent, and this is what I rely on. Just as readers saw your first person narrator as unreliable, I prefer to just write the narrator as best I can, and let readers make the judgment.

I think you're right about first person narrators. Do you think the same is true for close third? I didn't even realize my new story had an unreliable narrator until I was about halfway through writing it. I think it makes sense for this story, but maybe I shouldn't try to hard at making it obvious. At the same time, I am always up for trying something new, and this is new for me.

gettingby · Jan 11, 2015

Ken said:
I will be honest with you !

It is such a struggle just to make narrators reliable and believable and engaging etc etc etc that making them unreliable on top of that all and kinda undoing what you've done and making it all work out right is just too much for me to even consider. Maybe you just have to have the knack for it. Or maybe you just have to be very good, period.

That said, I do enjoy reading novels with unreliable narrators. Usually, the authors seem to approach that subtly. Some readers, possibly quite a few, may miss the unreliability. That's fine.

Are the things you read with unreliable narrators always in first? What is it that you like about reading things with an unreliable narrator? In my story the main character starts telling lies. I'm not sure if and when the reader will realize lies are being told, but they should early on pick up on the fact that this character is not the most credible. Maybe it doesn't matter if readers think there is an unreliable narrator or not. Does it matter?

gettingby · Jan 11, 2015

Sycamore said:
I love unreliable narrators. The key thing is subtlety. There can only be a few hints, a few things that sound a little off key. Until the point where you're ready for the twist to be revealed or the reader is already on board and aligned with the narrator.

I think novels allow a chance to explore the unreliable voice better than short stories. I can suggest a few examples if you want.

Many years ago, I wrote a short story with an unreliable narrator and it did very well. It revolved around a secret that was hiding in plain sight.

There is no big twist or reveal. Do you think there needs to be when using an unreliable narrator? I believe I have been dropping hints throughout that should make readers question things. But I feel like it could be overkill to officially announce that this is an unreliable narrator.

Your story that did well, was it written in first or third? And why did you choose to use this technique or was it something that just happened?

gettingby · Jan 11, 2015

Sycamore said:
I meant to add that the benefits is that it can bring a thrill to the reader when they begin to suspect and when this is confirmed.

It is also something to have fun with while writing.

I agree this is something that is fun to play around with. I'm just not sure how or if to make it clear.

gettingby · Jan 11, 2015

buirechain said:
I had the opposite problem with one of my stories. I thought the narrator was clearly unreliable, and then one of my readers thought that the reveal hadn't been properly prepared (actually, I wasn't even particularly trying to hide that the narrator was unreliable, I was trying to hide what was driving the conflict of the story by the narrator's unreliable interpretations).

In that case I ended up having to do two things; one, the narrator was a captain of a ship--I had to make it clear that her business, while technically legal, was highly disreputable, and thus her position of authority shouldn't make her reliable. I also had to change phrases here and there to make it clear that she was interpreting events (part of the problem was that I was making my reader wonder how the hell this character could know certain facts about another characters--facts that turned out to be false)

Ultimately, I'd say if you want to learn how to do it, spend time writing those stories and getting feedback and how well it succeeded, and then drafting the story until you get it right. Eventually you'll learn how to succeed most of the time without needing beta reader help. Short fiction is really great for that kind of experimentation.

I would say this story is an experiment. And I do plan to workshop it. Was your story in first or third? And what do you think it added having an unreliable narrator?

gettingby · Jan 15, 2015

I've been thinking about this some more, and now I'm not sure if my subtle hints will be enough, but maybe it doesn't matter. Does it matter?

I was really hoping that someone would say something about the unreliable narrator written in third. I think Stephen King did this in his short story "Afterlife" that was published in Tin House two summers ago. Did anyone here read that? Or do you know of any good examples of short stories with an unreliable narrator in third person?

I think what James said about first person narrators always being somewhat unreliable. Anyone have tips about doing this in third?

didi768 · Jan 16, 2015

Wish I understood what an unreliable narrator was. Can someone give me an example? Why does the reader have to trust a narrator anyway if it's fiction? I don't get this I guess.

TheCthultist · Jan 16, 2015

Personally I love them. A well written unreliable narrator is one of my absolute favorite things to run into in a story. I am not confident enough in my ability as a writer to actually use it in any of my stories (the closest I've done is a narrator who hints that he is telling the story of one side's interpretation of a battle when he is in fact documenting the other side's... it makes slightly more sense in context, but not much). I have the utmost respect for writers who can pull off the subtlety it takes to make a good unreliable narrator work in their story.

Twizzle · Jan 17, 2015

didi768 said:
Wish I understood what an unreliable narrator was. Can someone give me an example? Why does the reader have to trust a narrator anyway if it's fiction? I don't get this I guess.

We could get all fancy on you, but basically an unreliable narrator is one you can't trust. They're not fair or unbiased, not their observations, or blah blah, for whatever reasons.

And to answer your specific ques, the reader doesn't necessarily need to trust the narrator. But using trust, building or destroying it, with your readers is a powerful tool. But so hard to use correctly.

The novel The Dinner by Herman Koch is one of the most spectacular examples of an unreliable narrator I've read in a long time, imo.

The thing is, you KNOW he's unreliable. Right upfront. And you're like hah, I was an English major! I'm a writer! You can't trick me, I know you're lying! And you get to the end and you're like damnnnnn, you got me.

It's a spectacular case of the writer getting the reader to trust they can't trust in the narrator and then still blowing that trust to hell.

the unreliable narrator

gettingby

Jamesaritchie

Ken

Sycamore

Sycamore

buirechain

Caution: (tries to) Walk on Water

gettingby

gettingby

gettingby

gettingby

gettingby

gettingby

didi768

TheCthultist

Kept ya waiting, huh?

Twizzle

Cluck that.