#scriptstructure

This answer comes courtesy of @scriptstructure!

I’d say there’s a few different factors to consider. 

First off, are the delusional elements ‘untrue’ in the sense that they are misleading about the experiences that the character is trying to convey? 

I’d say that a character having a  'different’ view of reality due to a mental illness or condition doesn’t necessarily make them unreliable, so long as the story’s focus is on their perception of reality - it isn’t unreliable if they’re honestly conveying their perception of events. 

That said, there are a few different types of unreliable narrators largely divided into two groups; unreliable narrators who are trying to deceive the audience for some reason, and unreliable narrators who are lying to themselves.

So like, the narrator in Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is the murderer, but he’s keeping that from the reader by misdirecting their attention and misleading them. Likewise, Humbert Humbert from Lolita is an example - he’s narrating the story of what he did in such a way to attempt to persuade the jury of his murder trial that he’s an innocent victim of circumstance. 

On the other hand, there are narrators who for whatever reason can’t face the ‘truth’ of a situation. A subtle example would be John Watson in The Study in Scarlet, where there’s a discrepancy between his description of himself as a feckless layabout, and the facts of his military service and career (ie he seems like a dude with depression/ PTSD who’s self image has taken a nosedive after a traumatic experience. When he talks about stuff he’s done as not impressive, it’s misleading, but it does make Sherlock Holmes, who he admires very much, appear a lot more able and vibrant and interesting through his narrative choices).

The third kind would possibly be narrators who are unreliable because they don’t have all the information at the time, and have to work on assumptions. 

In terms of delusional or mentally ill characters, I’d probably say that the second or third kind of unreliable narrator would be more likely. However, if the character’s delusions are paranoid in nature, the character might 'test’ the reader or mislead them until they feel that they can give more or correct information.

There’s a chapter in House Of Leaves that does this - the narrator fabricates a chapter where he goes to therapy and starts medication and seems to be getting over the influence of the House, only to reveal to the reader at the end of the episode that actually he’s been living on the floor of his apartment the whole time, still obsessing.

Another good example is 'The Moth Diaries.’ The diarist is a teenage girl who may be succumbing to some form of mental illness, or may be watching her best friend be subsumed by a vampire. The book is ambiguous as to a 'true’ reading of it, but either way, the narrator isn’t unreliable because she’s reporting the facts as she sees them. This girl at school IS a vampire, and IS preying on her friend, and the struggle goes between trying to save a friend who doesn’t want her help, trying to get anyone to believe her that there’s something wrong with the new girl, and struggling herself with her own mind and feelings. She’s not an unreliable narrator, because she’s laying everything out as she witnesses it, and without the expectation of an audience (it’s her private diary), or else with the only intended audience being herself for the purpose of self reflection but there’s definite ambiguity in the text stemming in part from the narrator’s mental state.

I feel like the unreliability of the narrator is relative to the narratorial intent. Whether or not a character should be considered an unreliable narrator depends on the nature of the story, the character, the nature of the character’s mental illness, and the narrator’s relationship to the implied reader.

1/4/2017

Heyo! We’re back and better (hopefully) than ever. After a holiday, it’s nice to be able to get back into a bit of a rhythm. Anyways, on to the important things.

Announcements

We have a huge announcement this week!

@scriptmedic moderated the VERY FIRST scriptX family writing contest!

The winners are:

@fourandahalfapple

@kathrynabbott

@pielover1967

Congratulations!

Also this week,

@scripteconomist is open to mod applications. Please message her if you are interested.

@scripteducator is looking for a co-mod with special education teaching experience. Please message her if you are interested.

@scriptsocialwork is still looking for a mod that has knowledge in the foster care system and has knowledge in adoption.

Featured Posts

19 Khajiits and Counting

The mild mad Greek goddess ( @pissed-off-persephone ) is back wondering how two different species could do the do and get results. But wait, what if we want the child to be more one parent than the other? @scriptgenetics answers this one pretty quick.

The Fish Say Moo

Fish are great! What with their swimming and their, uh, swimming and… swimming? Ok so maybe they aren’t the most fun pets, but hey you could always use them for food. But would it make sense to have fish the size of, say, sheep and keep them like cows? @scriptecology is here for this asker, with a bonus bit by @allthebellsinvenice .

The Deeper You Go, The Darker It Gets

So the deep/dark web: what is that? Creepypasta readers may be familiar with the idea, but you may not be know enough to write your own horror story filled with vomitous imagery. Well, @scripthacker has the McBasics ready for you to read and learn.

Characteristics of an Abused or Neglected Child

Writing many times looks at the darker side of humans. In consideration of the “show, don’t tell” rule, @scriptsocialwork has provided this list of characteristics that could be used in your story of the horrors of a dark home.

Decomposable Income

What makes something a good currency? Well, you probably wouldn’t want something subject to decay. @scripteconomist helps out this asker with a creative idea for currency, but maybe not practical. Who knows? Maybe it will work in the end.

An American Freshman in London

So obviously school is different when you’re in a different country, but an explanation of something basic like grade levels would be nice. Well say a “thank you” to @scriptbrit because Mod Tea has a chart here for you and a brief summary.

Invasion of the Land Snatchers

Long ago, the nations lived together in harmony. That all changed when that one nation attacked. Only @scripthistory, master of all the eras, could provide a reason for the asker. And when he was needed most, he was there with open ask box. Days passed and the question was answered. And though the blog has many questions left to answer, I believe Captain can save the errors of the scripts.

A Day in the Indoor Garden

She pulls the keys out of her purse and locks the door. It’s been a long day at the shop with everyone needing flowers for Valentine’s day. She sighs turning around as she walks to her car and thinks about the daily routine. It involves plenty of…. well @scriptflorist has that covered.

A Nuke at a Debate

Your character just moves into a house and go figure, it’s haunted. Well, he’s pretty sure, but he's not certain. How is he going to go about taking care of this spooky problem? @scriptwitchcraft has some advice that would be perfect for this.

A Book Here, A Book There, A Book Everywhere

And finally, you can set down your pen for a moment, and bask in the glory of a draft well done. The series has been selling well and now your last book is ready for publishing. You reminisce on the good times you’ve had in your fantasy world. That cave scene was epic, one of your proudest moments. Maybe, just maybe, you could somehow continue the story. But your characters are done, all their arcs completed. No what you need is new characters. And now, @scriptstructure has some advice for you on how you could do your new narrative.

How To Write More Memorable Doctors (Even If They Never Speak)

(Hey, hey, guess what. This post, right here? Yeah it appeared first on Patreon. Go check out Aunt Scripty’s Patreon and consider donating. See the future of the Script Medic.)

Billy Badbones? More like Broken bones after he jumped out that window. And now he’s in the hospital and he is BORED. He looks through the glass door and sees two nurses. Well, duh, he sees nurses, but who are these nurses? How can you make even a background character like a doctor or nurse be the character your readers remember? Bada bing, bada boom- @scriptmedic has a post for you!

Quotes

I’m trying this quote section out, see how it goes.

“I'm sorry, I was given sugar and a cat and left unsupervised to talk about cannibalism.” -Kayl ( @scriptlibrarian ) A summary of the chat

“On one hand, we have deep therapeutic discussions, and then it INEVITABLY turns to murder, cannibalism, or both.”- @scriptshrink Also describing the chat

"Tripping on your own insides is bad"-Aunt Scripty ( @scriptmedic ) Upon being asked whether someone could walk after being stabbed in the abdomen

“For a second I thought that said human sacrifice not human medicine and was about to offer help”-Ajk’in( @scriptmyth ) Realizing that she had misread something Dr. Ferox ( @scriptveterinarian ) has said

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New Family

We have two new blogs that have joined the family!

@scriptautistic run by Mods Cat and Aira. Click their names for their respective introduction posts.

@scriptspoonie is here to help you write people with illnesses that don't leave them much energy. The title is based off the concept of spoon theory which you can read about here. Learn about their mods here.

(2/?) The actress and the writer hate each other, but they’re too scared to let each other go. The actress is dying from an illness, and her death at the end releases the writer she sacrifices herself and it’s supposed to be a metaphor blablabla it’s very complex and will likely take years to write. I have two questions: is it a good idea to make my body and this lie a character (the actress) as she’s not real? Or should she be a fictional character in the fictional writer’s fictional play?

(3/?) I’m struggling with her. I mean it makes sense for the writer to be a character but should the actress even exist at all? Or should he realize later during the writing process that she’s not real at all? Or make her some sort of ghost? Put some magical realism here and there? And the second question: how do I add queerness to the story without making it obvious or scaring my parents?

(4/?) They’re pretty closed minded but I know they try. I want to express exactly how i feel but writing a coming out letter without queer characters feels out of place. But if I add LGB characters it will make them think something else as I’m trans and i already had problems regarding my sexuality with them. This isn’t about sexuality. It’s about gender. And adding trans characters is way too in the face. I was thinking about drag queens or polyamorous relationships but i’m not sure it’s enough

(5/5) sorry i’m sending so many asks hahaha i just love this blog so much and need a little help. Thank you for your patience. ❤

Referencing this ask. Hey, there, welcome back! <3 I’ve opened this ask up to the rest of the scriptfam, and I thought I’d share their responses with you! I’ve also asked a trans mod to step in, since I feel uncomfortable answering this as a cis person, but I love seeing followup and I hope your other story works out okay! =D BTW - personally, I think magical realism! Yes! I love magical realism!

~ Mod Ginger“There is no right or wrong answer. The idea of making the “self” that he presents to the world a separate character seems really interesting to me. As for making sense… It doesn’t “make sense” in a “this could happen in real life way”, but that is the one of the beauties of writing - you can twist reality, and you can explore metaphors. To me, having your body and lie be a character seems very literary. The question of “reality” doesn’t have a right answer, and could even be left ambiguous in the text itself.“

-Mod Snail from @scriptautistic

“Given the relationship between the writer and the actress, it sounds a little like a twisted Moulin Rouge, or I could also see a comparison with Stephen King’s Misery (the author using the character he hates as a shield and his life being affected by her death in story). If you can narrow down what you want to do, then I could help you come up with ideas of how to execute it.”

- Mod Mason from @scriptstructure 

Hey, I sort of did something similar when I was in high school. Honestly parents seem to rarely get it as being an allusion until you talk to them and make the connection for them, in my experience. (But maybe this is just my experience with my parents, who aren’t the most adept with anything and who I don’t have a relationship with anymore so this may be skewed.) 

Personally, I think you should get to make this a thing. The best art is coming from the heart. If it seems out of place, then you just need to spread the parts where you put your heart into about this for consistency. It is worth it. You deserve this opportunity to speak on this even if you can’t necessarily get it to work outside of this venue.