Strategies for Crafting an Untrustworthy Storyteller: A Guide
Fiction characters who deliberately mislead or present an untruthful account of events can create captivating narratives, known as unreliable narrators. These first-person characters may be amnesiacs, heavy drinkers, or have pathological lying tendencies, such as Patrick Bateman from 'American Psycho.'
Unreliable narrators can be found in various genres, including mysteries and thrillers. For instance, Rachel from Paula Hawkins's novel 'The Girl on the Train' suggests her story might be inaccurate due to her alcoholism, leaving readers questioning her credibility and enhancing the story's suspense.
These characters allow writers to add depth and complexity to their stories. Unreliability can provide insights into a character's inner psyche and explore themes such as truth, perception, and identity. Additionally, unreliable narrators can pave the way for surprising plot twists and encourage readers to engage critically with the narrative.
Here are some tips for creating effective unreliable narrators:
- Provide your narrator with a reason for their unreliability, such as amnesia or addiction, creating tension as the story unfolds and clues are gradually revealed.
- Make your narrator smarter than average, demonstrating an intimate awareness of their dishonesty. Characters like Amy Dunne in 'Gone Girl' are both cunning and psychologically manipulative.
- Utilize multiple narrators to create intrigue and withhold information from readers, as in 'Gone Girl' and 'One of Us is Lying.' Each character's secrets keep readers guessing until the very end.
- Clearly establish the narrator's unreliability from the beginning, not just when mystery or a plot twist is required.
- Make the narrator a villain, presenting them sympathetically while committing horrific acts, as in Caroline Kepnes's 'You.' This juxtaposition can keep readers engaged and questioning the story's reality.
By crafting an unreliable narrator, writers can transport readers into unreliable worlds, compelling them to question the truth, engage critically, and discern reality from fiction.
An author's strategic use of an unreliable narrator can craft captivating narratives in different genres, such as mysteries, thrillers, or even fiction like 'Gone Girl.' For example, a character like Amy Dunne, who is both smart and psychologically manipulative, can question the reader's perception of reality, making them critically engage with the narrative and explore themes like truth, perception, and identity. Similarly, fashion-and-beauty magazine editors in a lifestyle context might also purposefully mislead readers, creating an illusion of perfect appearances while concealing their flaws behind the scenes, similar to the untruthful accounts provided by unreliable narrators in books. Entertainment media, too, sometimes follows this pattern, presenting stories that are not entirely truthful to gain more attention, much like these fictional characters do.
