Introduction
London, United Kingdom - The year is 2008, I am a preteen living in the South of London and the new Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging DVD has been released. AKA, a tumultuous moment will occur in my life. I have been introduced to the world of Georgia Nicholson, a dramatic teenage girl, created by Louise Rennison.
After being informed that the movie was an adaptation of the book "Angus Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging", I dedicated hours to reading the collection of books back to front. I began a journey by reading through Georgia's diary, which told the story of her family life, her crushes and friendships.
Take a time machine forwards, to 2024 - I recently took a course on creating unreliable narrators, and Georgia Nicholson came to mind when thinking about my encounters with an unreliable narrator.
Everybody, including the reader and Georgia, had a problem with Georgia Nicholson at one point in time. She is the perfect Y2K example of an unreliable narrator and one we will use in this article, intended to help you create an unreliable narrator.
Why Do Writers Create Unreliable Narrators?
There are various reasons why a writer would create an unreliable narrator.
To mess with their readers' mind - A writer might find it entertaining to create a character that their reader will fall in love with, only to later make them go through the trauma of learning about the monster that they truly are.
To challenge their readers - Creating an unreliable narrator often provides readers with a choice. Despite the unreliability of the narrator, it is up to the reader to judge whether they trust the narrator or not and whether they like them or not.
To change the feel of a book - Using an unreliable narrator can make a book mysterious, suspenseful or thrilling. By creating a character who is not always honest, the reader will question the narrator's actions and motives, looking for clues to find out the truth.
To offer a different perspective - When writers create a flawed character, they offer a perspective into a different view of human psychology.
To provoke empathy - Unreliable narrators often have traumatic backgrounds, vulnerabilities and insecurities that are deeply personal, and occasionally relatable. An unreliable narrator can invite readers into a messy room which they might leave fostering empathy and understanding for the narrator.
The Two Main Types of Unreliable Narrators
The self-deceptive or naïve narrator - An unreliable narrator might not always be purposefully deceptive. Sometimes, the narrator is unaware of their own bias and limitations. They might often believe their lies, due to being inexperienced, innocent or lacking in self-awareness. These narrators can introduce humour, or reflection on growth in a story.
Georgia Nicholson is a perfect example of a naïve unreliable narrator. It is not her intention to lie but her youth might make her more inclined to exaggerate or change parts of a story to make herself look better or interesting. A character at her age of development might not always entirely understand the situations that she is in. In some ways, Georgia Nicholson is self-deceptive to make herself feel better.
The deliberately deceptive narrator - Sometimes an unreliable narrator thinks they are all bad and they want the reader to know it. These narrators lie to the reader and manipulate them to deceive the reader. They might do it to protect themselves from the truth, to control how they are viewed or to achieve an ulterior motive.
A deliberately deceptive narrator might be more complicated to work out, making the reader feel tense as they try to work out what is true.
Another nostalgic example is Lemony Snicket in 'A Series Of Unfortunate Events' written by Daniel Handler.
The narrator of the book, Lemony Snicket, is a manipulative character who intentionally withholds information from the reader. He plays games by distracting the reader in various ways, like warning the reader to stop reading. Lemony Snicket's mood constantly changes throughout the book, making readers unsure about what is sincere or exaggerated.
How To Create An Unreliable Narrator
These are 7 tips that will help you create a strong unreliable narrator in your fictional stories.
- Make your narrator a liar - Your character lies about everything. Perhaps your narrator tells the same story differently to other characters, or their actions don't match their words.
- Have multiple characters share their point of view in your story - If you want a story with more flesh, having two narrators could be the answer. For example, "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn shows both unreliable narrator, Amy and her... somewhat reliable husband Nick's perspective's in the book.
- Make your character youthful - A youthful narrator can change the stories you create. This can make a book less mysterious because your unreliable narrator is only naïve. A youthful unreliable narrator might have more light-hearted and fun stories to tell.
- Make your character a monster - In contrast, your unreliable narrator could be a piece of work. Your unreliable narrator could be a serial killer whose only motive is to deceive the readers of your book into believing that he is innocent.
- Make your character vulnerable - Your character could have insecurities or reasons for being unreliable. Explore your unreliable narrators and work out why they are unreliable.
- Leave clues in your book that your character is untrustworthy - To make your story more interesting, you can find ways to leave clues in your book that your unreliable narrator is untrustworthy.
- Find parts of your character that are likeable - In ways, your reader needs to like your unreliable narrator or find some way to sympathize with them to keep reading your story. Find ways to make your character interesting, maybe your unreliable narrator is also the victim.
(The Internet Café revolves around fiction, but unreliable narrators are also available in non-fiction books. A person lying in their autobiography would turn themselves into the unreliable narrator.)
That was The Internet Cafe's guide on how to create an unreliable narrator - Y2K Britain Edition.
If you had any nostalgic moments from parts of the article then share in the comments. Equally as interesting to hear if you have ever read a book with an unreliable narrator too!
♡We would also like to invite you to share stories you create using Unreliable Narrators to The Internet Café territory! ♡
