{"id":11973,"date":"2016-10-18T04:00:34","date_gmt":"2016-10-18T08:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dougbittinger.com\/thoughts\/?p=11973"},"modified":"2025-04-21T01:56:38","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T05:56:38","slug":"unreliable-narrator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pineymountainfoster.org\/thoughts\/unreliable-narrator\/","title":{"rendered":"Using an Unreliable Narrator"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"two-faced<\/a>
Image via www.moillusions_com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is said that there are three sides to every divorce: his side, her side, and the truth. This colloquialism alludes to the fact that people will slant their narration of events to suit their own perspective. Really, it goes beyond that because there are times when a participant in an event is not just biased, but incapable of seeing the whole picture because he or she does not have all the facts or is so set in their own view they will<\/strong> not see it any other way.<\/p>\n

A writer uses narration to give the reader information that is not being directly observed: backstory, private thoughts, or events that have happened \u201coff screen\u201d.<\/p>\n

Readers get used to the idea that everything told in the story is credible and trustworthy. And yet that\u2019s not always the case because there can be a tricky type of narrator, the unreliable narrator. There are various reasons why an author might make a narrator misleading. Some characters are villains, who do their best to fool readers and lead them down a false trail. However, characters can also be unable to provide readers with objective information because they are naive, insane, unaware, or mistaken. Or they just can be show-offs and pretenders who exaggerate their merits and want to be better than they are in reality.<\/p>\n

A narrator\u2019s unreliability is sometimes obvious but can be largely hidden, revealing only hints that something is amiss.<\/p>\n

If you are writing crime fiction or a mystery an unreliable narrator is a useful tool to add intrigue. This can ensure that readers stay enmeshed in a story through to the end, when they finally learn how the narrator deceived them. Then they will likely say \u201cWow! I didn’t see that coming!\u201d<\/p>\n

You don’t want this device to become a hallmark of your writing or your readers will enter every book expecting this subterfuge.\u00a0 But tossing this kink in every once in a while can be fun.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to study out how this technique is best used, I recommend these characters (and books) as examples of unreliable narrators:<\/p>\n