ext_3219 ([identity profile] ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com) wrote in [personal profile] k_a_webb 2012-08-12 07:41 pm (UTC)

Thoughts

>>Sometimes you write a story and you know damn well that the characters have been lied to, that certain things have happened for reasons they don’t know because someone explained situations to them in a way that means they have an incorrect idea of why they are in said situation, but because you’re writing about that character it’s not possible to show that they have believed lies.<<

That touches on the "unreliable narrator" motif. There are some ways to hint that a character is personally unreliable (i.e. a liar, a manipulative psychopath, etc.) or has unreliable information (i.e. is the first of their kind, is working from patchy references, is stuck with an asshole teacher). You might find it helpful to look into that. Even if it's not possible to clue things in advance, it usually is as the story progresses because the character will start discovering that some things are wrong and then wonder why. But yeah, it can be frustrating when they've done a really solid job of convincing themselves and are resistant to new input -- that makes it very difficult to convey to readers that you, as the writer, actually do know what you're doing even if the character doesn't.

>> I could write about other characters who had to deal with the same thing and weren’t as lucky. I could write about one of the characters who told the lies in the first place. I’m just not sure if they’re stories I want to take on, but at the same time I want to make the original story less illogical. <<

I think I'd go for either short side-stories by the lying character or someone else who could figure out the dissonance; or just bonus material comparing lies to truths. Pick side-stories if the lies are deliberate, especially if the misleading character is plotty. Pick bonus material if the lies are endemic to a situation (like "women are weaker at magic") and widely believed. Warn people of spoilers in either case, because a lot of these will probably relate to story revelations later down the line.

Post a comment in response:

This account has disabled anonymous posting.
(will be screened if not validated)
If you don't have an account you can create one now.
No Subject Icon Selected
More info about formatting