An article on Industrial Scripts examines the different types of unreliable narrators and how you can write one. “An unreliable narrator is a first-person narrator of a story that can’t be trusted for a complete or truthful account of that story,” the article says. “The unreliable narrator may be apparent to the audience from the start or the audience may not notice the narrator is unreliable until the very end.”
While there are many different types of unreliable narrator, they can generally be divided into three categories:
- Liars. Liars purposefully deceive the audience, either by directly lying or withholding information. They seek to paint themselves in a good light. Examples: Verbal Kint in The Usual Suspects, Amy in Gone Girl.
Cousin to the liar, embellishers and exaggerators add or exaggerate detail. They might not be actually lying, but they make themselves and their role in their story grander than it is, while downplaying others. Example: Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
- Naivety or Hidden Truths. Some unreliable narrators don’t know they are unreliable. For example, a child narrator may not have perspective or understanding of events around them. They aren’t lying, but still can’t be trusted to provide the full truth. Example: The boy in Life of Pi, Malcolm Crowe in The Sixth Sense.
- Unhinged. A character who’s lost touch with reality can also be unreliable. Examples: the Narrator in Fight Club, Patrick Bateman in American Psycho
So, how do you write an unreliable narrator? You have to play fair with your readers. You shouldn’t rely only on a twist ending to pull the rug out, but leave clues and create ambiguity so that your change feels exciting, rather than fake.
- Start early. “The narrator has to be unreliable consistently, even if we’re not aware of it till the end of the film,” the article says. “You should hint at aspects of their character and personality that give clues to their unreliability.” Does your narrator focus too much on themselves? Are there inconsistencies in their narration that you can exploit? The perfect clues will be invisible to your audience, yet obvious in retrospect.
- Allow For Other Character’s Perspectives. Supporting characters can highlight and contrast with your narrator’s perspective. “For an unreliable narrator, supporting characters can be crucial in pointing out inconsistencies in the narrator’s version of events,” the article states.
- Don’t Blow Their Cover. In other words, be subtle. If your narrator is too unreliable, your readers will see through them. Worse, they might not want to spend a whole novel with them. You can hint at unreliability through character flaws. While your audience may empathize with your narrator initially, they will learn the truth when you reveal it.
