Timewaster's Guide Archive
Local Authors => Writing Group => Topic started by: maxonennis on March 01, 2011, 05:12:53 PM
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Okay, I writing a short story with a first person unreliable narrator, but what makes him unreliable is that he suffers from narcolepsy and sleepwalking (a combination I plan to use for comic affect). My question is this, if said narrator narrates in past tense, doesn’t that means that he is essentially recounting events later on? That being the case, it would be easy for him to come up with a suitable conclusion for when he (for example) feel asleep on the way to the bakery and ended up walking to the local library without admitting that he just feel asleep.
I ask that question to ask this one: would the character not be more unreliable if his narration was in present tense? I would think it would be the difference between a rehearsed lie, and telling a lie on the spot with someone putting pressure on you. Because of that, I'm leaning towards writing this in present tense, but I wanted to get other people's opinions on the narration device.
So, is present tense for an reliable character with this disposition a good idea, or a bad one?
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I think it could be interesting in present tense, for the reasons you describe.
Present tense is very hard to do well, but there are some books where the writing is so good that I don't really notice it's in present tense until I'm finished with the book and think back on it.
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I think it could be interesting in present tense, for the reasons you describe.
Present tense is very hard to do well, but there are some books where the writing is so good that I don't really notice it's in present tense until I'm finished with the book and think back on it.
I agree completely.