posted
In my current WIP, I'm about two thirds of the way through, about eleven K words so far. I've been writing in the POV of my MC, who has been dealing with another character. Now, he goes to sleep, expecting to wake up to what he's been told to expect by this other character, but instead, he wakes up to find that character is gone (because of the plot of this story, the gone part is very profound and surprising, even to the MC) to find instead he's with these other two people, whom he had an encounter with earlier in the story.
This change with turn the plot on its head, and everything the MC, and the reader, thought they knew, is no longer.
Would a sudden change of this manner throw the reader out of the story, or would it be acceptable? Sorry I can't be more specific about the plot, but if anything needs clarification, I'll see what I can do.
posted
If it means the narrator becomes unreliable, no, I would not accept it.
If the new situation is consistent with everything the narrator said, and what the MC and other characters thought they knew (excluding any that were lying) I'd accept it--indeed, it could be enjoyable.
That it all changes when he goes to sleep might be a bit cliched.
Daniel Galouye did it very well in Simulacron 3 (or Counterfeit World) and maintained a reliable narrator by being true to everything the MC (thought he) knew. It was made into a movie called The Thirteenth Floor.
Hope this helps, Pat
[This message has been edited by TaleSpinner (edited April 13, 2008).]
posted
I would be concerned about two things. First, 11K is already a novelette, and if you're only 2/3 along the way, then you're likely headed for the land of novella.
So, two questions...
1) Do you know if you can even market a piece that long, and 2) If you have that much information, and then you're literally starting over 2/3 of the way along, how are you going to keep the reader/editor from going WHAT!!!! and looking for another piece.
Thoughts on 1)... I've never written a novella, but my longest piece was on it's way, coming in at 12,000. Those few readers who critiqued it had a good point, which was, "That was a lot of build up and language for the payoff you provide."
Thoughts on 2)... If you're already at 11K, and now you're going to take a left turn so sharp that your readers are going to have trouble figuring out how you got there, I'm curious how you're going to make the payoff "worth" the re-figuring out.
I'm sure it's possible/been done, but I don't have any off the cuff advice for how you'd pull it off.
posted
The Thirteenth Floor was great. Love that movie.
Yes, the MC had beeen misled for a large part of the story. Of course, he still doesn't know who to believe. As for the 'going to sleep'. He goes on a long space journey and it's induced sleep.
Igwiz, reason I didn't want to give too much plot away is this is a WoTF entry. 17,000 words max, which I'm heading toward.
posted
Now that I think of it, Aldiss did the kind of switch you're considering--twice, with "Nonstop" and "The Dark Lightyears". And Heinlein's "By His Bootstraps" also involved MC and reader having to reassess what they knew near the end of the story.
It seems not to be a common device, but it's highly entertaining when it works.
posted
I dont see a problem with it. I know a lot of publishers dislike twist endings, but your not talking about a twist ending, your talking about the setup changing late in the story, which seems fine, to me.
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posted
You might need to foreshadow the abrupt change, but otherwise I see no reason why it wouldn't work.
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posted
Thanks everyone. I feel like I'm going in the right direction now. I'll see if it worked when I get the crits back.
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