This is a meme that’s made the rounds but I thought it made a good point about character perspective—and maybe getting another character’s second opinion on our protagonist’s point of view.
In an amazing feat of synchronicity, Elspeth Antonelli ran the exact meme on her own excellent blog yesterday, so I’ll link to her here.
I’m editing this for space, but you can see the entire Dog Diary vs. Cat Diary here.
The Dog’s Diary
8:00 am – Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am – A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am – A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am – Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm – Milk bones! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm – Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
The Cat’s Diary
Day 983 of My Captivity
My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.
The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates my capabilities. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a “good little hunter” I am. Bast**ds!
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I don’t know about you, but when I read I usually tend to identify with the story’s protagonist. That can be pretty hard to do—authors sometimes make protagonists intentionally unlikeable.
But usually, I’m the #1 fan/buddy of whatever protagonist I’m currently reading. I’ve even read books where I’m on pins and needles worrying whether a criminal protagonist is going to escape from the authorities.
One of my favorite techniques is when an author pulls the rug out from under me. I can have so much tunnel vision as a reader that I’ll get totally sold on the protagonist’s perceptions and perspectives. The way they see the world of their novel is the way I do, too.
When an author suddenly throws a scene at me where the protagonist’s views are challenged or even derided by another character? I’m totally thrown. It’s like I’ve been seeing life through the dog’s eyes and now I’m introduced to the cat’s point of view.
Whom do I believe? The protagonist is my friend! I’ve been looking at the novel’s world through his eyes the whole time. Does he have poor judgment? Can I trust his opinions and perceptions?
What’s the purpose of the technique? To add some complexity, uncertainty, and a degree of conflict to a story.
Have you ever used an unreliable narrator or protagonist?
Elizabeth – Thanks for sharing that difference in perspective. Isn’t Elspeth’s blog terrific?!
As far as unreliable protags go, no, I have to say I haven’t done that. I have, though, made characters seem likable who aren’t later on. In that sense, I pull the rug out. I’ll have to think about that…it might fit in with the way my WIP is shaping up.
Oh, and that’s a wonderful picture of you and your dog : ).
Firstly, thank you so much, Elizabeth, for saying such nice things about my blog. However, I notice you’re clever enough to weave it into a wonderful lesson about perspectives, whereas I was content to simply go for the laugh. (always a weakness of mine)
I don’t tend to have unreliable protagonists as I don’t think readers will root for someone they find untrustworthy. Any other character, however, is fair game.
I love the picture of you with your corgi.
And thanks for your kind words too, Margot!
I think all characters are blind to something. And that is one of the joys of using multiple points of view. You can give the reader perspective.
I don’t like to pull the rug out from under my audience though. (I don’t like it pulled out from under me.) However, I do like to use the technique in a lighter way. It can be great humor – when one character thinks she has put one over on another and it turns out she hasn’t.
It can also be a good technique for something to pay off for the reader. You set up a situation that they might worry or wonder about, and then they see the truth in another point of view.
Excellent post! I absolutely adore the cat/dog perspective – a year ago I would have thought it funny, but after having lived for a while with both cats and dogs (my host family in the US had two cats and two dogs), I think it’s hilarious. So spot on!
I too love protagonists that have an “alternative” way of viewing the world. It really makes for an interesting read, especially if you after a while finds yourself sympathizing with someone who are doing despicable things (Dexter comes to mind). This is certainly a technique I will try to incorporate in my future writing (I can’t say I have been all that successful in the past).
Great post. I don’t enjoy books where you’re turned for a loop because the writer has changed and caused you to lose trust in the protagonist. Now, if the writer throws a few twists that cause you to “talk” to the protagonist briefly and then shows you they were right, that’s good. This only causes a brief mistrust and then it’s restored.
Enjoyed Elspeth’s post yesterday. So cute. And the photo of you and your dog is priceless.
I saw this on Elspeth’s as well and it made me laugh out loud :)
I’ve done the rug-pulling thing once & it was fun. I’m going to have to do it again!
I hate to have the perspective rug yanked from beneath me. It always reminds me of a cheesy B-movie when an author does that. Good reminder, Elizabeth, to be wary of doing that inadvertently with our characters.
Great post. My current WIP has 4 POVs (I know, it’s against the rules) but I’m pushing the envelope. I love it because I can really add dept to each character and adjust the rug here and there without yanking it out. ;)
I don’t know about the rug pulling. What I do admire is what you described with us rooting for the criminal. We can live life through a dark mind, too. There are some powerful stories out there that do that! It’s also getting the audience (reader) to be pulled into the character’s perspective. I will keep this in mind as I write.
The cat paragraph was terrific. I have a cat. Now, I get her perspective. So THAT’S why she pukes on my floor, one time in my shoe! (I wasn’t wearing it.)
Great idea to use the dog-cat perspective in this way! I have experimented with unreliable narrators recently. I think it is fascinating to create them, but I can see that it is very difficult to strike a balance so the reader understands enough, but not too soon.
“Have you ever used an unreliable narrator or protagonist?”
I have not yet, but it is tempting … the possibilities are so delightfully mischievous, lol.
I hadn’t read that diary thing Elspeth put up til this morning. I’m at the library and like I commented to her, I created a bit of a scene busting out laughing so hard in this quiet place, tee hee.
Marvin D Wilson
ps – Beautiful dog! You make a great couple, too! (wink)
Great post. I love the dog v cat POVs. :) I’ve never written an unreliable narrator, but I have written things using multiple POVs and switching timelines. It’s exhausting and a real danger I think is if you’re not careful, readers can get confused or tired of trying to keep track of the changes and quit reading.
Yeah, that about sums it up! Funny post.
12 comments:
Margot–Good point! I’ve done that with my current WIP…got a suspect who seems GREAT–until the suspect isn’t.
Elspeth–I love your blog! I thought it was so funny that we’d picked the same, OLD meme at the same time.
I see where you’re coming from…it can be tricky. I liked it when Agatha Christie did it the couple of times she did (but she also got some negative reviews for her trick.) I like the Dexter series, too…but again, it’s tricky. As far as TV is concerned, there’s “House”–and sometimes I get disgusted with him, too!
Daring Novelist–I do some POV shifts, but really briefly…I try to stay in the protagonist’s head most of the time.
I like your suggestion for using the technique–finding out, with relief, that things aren’t as bleak as our protagonist makes out.
Cruella–Dexter is the perfect example. There we are pulling for this person who shouldn’t be pulled for! Love those books.
Karen–Juggling that number of POVs is a lot of work! But when it’s done well, it does add a lot of complexity to a novel.
Mason–You’re right…we shouldn’t take it too far. Little moments go far enough, I think. :)
Jemi–I like it, but my commenters are making me scared! If I do it, I’m going to have to make sure I do it really, really carefully.
Glen–I hadn’t thought of it that way! You know what, though, I’ve seen it done REALLY badly before and gotten disgusted with the book. Good point–writers beware!
Mary–If I’m pulling for a bad guy, then the author has REALLY manipulated me! (In a good way.)
Oh yeah, the cat puke. :) You have to wonder about the placement of it sometimes.
Marvin–I think that’s why I like it–it’s such a sassy thing for an author to do.
I thought the diaries were funny, too! :) Can’t you just imagine cats taking that viewpoint?
Sarah–I think you’re right about that. If it’s taken TOO far, then we really can’t identify at all with the protagonist (or won’t want to.) And there’s the risk of confusion when you’re not sure what to believe.
Alex–Thanks! :)
I plan on writing an unreliable protagonist someday. I have the story and everything in mind, just need the time to do it. This girl will be deluded, thinking everything revolves around her…of course, as the protagonist, it kinda does :)
I have to say I’m not a huge fan of the rug being pulled out from underneath me! I have had it done twice now in the last few books I have read. First one, halfway through I discover the MC was a vampire! What the heck?!?! I didn’t even know I was reading a vampire novel! Then I started the second in a series only to realize it actaully wasn’t about the same people as the first one. Now, I do suppose this could be partly my own fault for not researching these before I read them, but it was one of those things where i almost lost interest because I was unaware. Luckily I plowed on and ended up loving both books!
If done well, it can be mysterious and enticing. If not, it cane be disheartening and frustrating. I recently read ‘Bangkok Haunts’ by John Burdett. I had loved his first book, ‘Bangkok 8,’ and was familiar with his combination of Buddhism, Thai culture, and Western bashing. But this novel didn’t pull it all together. This novel made me feel uncomfortable in the protagonist’s skin.
You have an award on my blog!
Michele
Southern City Mysteries
Look at that wonderful Corgi and another perfect picture of you. :)
Yes, it’s all in the perspective. Even when our children argue there’s usually three sides to it: child 1, child 2 and the truth.
So true the difference between dogs and cats. Dogs appreciate everything. Cat’s appreciate nothing-unless they want to and in their own time.
Gotta love them both.
I keep it to one or two views HOWEVER if it is done well I love it when I get two or three views on the same story. I don’t think of it as an unreliable narrator though – I think it is the brilliance of the writer to show that in the actual real world people hold diametrically opposed views of what happened and what it meant. Iris Murdoch was amazing at doing this in her novels. I’m totally with the first one then I’m absolutely believing the second one and back and forth until I get it. There can’t be a totally reliable narrator unless there is really nothing to think about! When I was a journalist I used to laugh at the notion of unbiased reporting. Get Data from Star Trek then!
Cats rule, dogs drool!
Sorry, Rocko & Spunky made me write that…
shawnawks–That sounds like some bad marketing, too! I would think they’d have plastered “vampire” all over that book, the way they’ve been selling!
Dorte–I’m definitely sensing that readers can be turned off if it isn’t done well by the author.
Lorel–It’s easy for the protagonists’ heads to turn, isn’t it! LOL. It IS all about them. :)
Jan–I love that idea–who is reliable? We’re all approaching things from our different backgrounds and perspectives. But, you’re right, it really has to be done well to work.
Michele–I haven’t read that one…and I think I’ll give it a pass! Thanks so much for the award…sorry it’s taken me so long to ck my comments.
Diane–I love it!
Teresa–Thanks! :)