Tense?

[hobbitomm]

This is a little question for the writers etc out there.

You read a book, narrated in first person past tense (I won't say which one, cos, y'know, spoilers)- ie, "I did so and so".

The narrator dies part way through the book, despite clearly not having had time to tell the story to anyone for at least the end part.

Is this cheating?

Comments

[ggreig]

(I Am Not A Writer) It depends. Assuming that after-lifely shennanigans are not appropriate to the setting, there's a strong possibility that the reader's involvement will expire with the narrator.

I'd reckon it might still be OK if it somehow adds something to the book - difficult to think of an example, but let's say some unusual perspective. If it's just a way of springing an unforeseen corpse on the reader, it does sound like cheating.

[hobbitomm.livejournal.com]

Well, after-lifey shennanigans did, indeed, occur, but strictly on camera for the entire length of the necromancy, and narration of the story did not occur....

[vcmorris.livejournal.com]

No, I'd not call it cheating, just a change in POV for the rest of the story. If the narrator dies part way through the book, how is the rest of the story being told? There must have been other people involved as the plot unfolds so I'm guessing it's told by those people or by a more omnipotent perspective. Perfectly "legal", imho.

I have frequent POV changes in my books, sometimes even within the same chapter. As long as the POV isn't changing mid-scene, that's fine.

[hobbitomm.livejournal.com]

No, what I meant as the problem was, if the 1st narrator is telling the story in the _past_ tense, up to and including death, who are they telling it to, and when?

[vcmorris.livejournal.com]

OH! I get it.
So, the narrator is dead (undead? zombie? ghost?) while he's telling the story.
Hm. Weird.

[hobbitomm.livejournal.com]

Well, that's the only possibility I can think of for how she's managing to narrate her thoughts leading up to death in the past-tense. But when she's resurrected, we see her entire appearance from summoning to dismissal, and she doesn't _tell_ the story to anyone. So how come we're hearing her thoughts?

[jpgsawyer.livejournal.com]

I think perhaps you just need to stop worrying about it and enjoying the story.

Remember narative is just a means of conveying the ideas and doesn't need to actually be possible as its just an artiface.

Of course it if bothers you then it reduces the value of the art being projuced as it inhibits your ability to suspend disbelief but its not what I believe you could call cheating just something that is quite odd.

There you go and would you believe I am actually an Engineer that was almost an arty answer?

[hobbitomm.livejournal.com]

*grin*

Oh, I enjoyed the story, it just... niggled, you know?

[e-halmac.livejournal.com]

Well, Desperate Housewives have managed to make it work, albeit in a narrator-who-gives-pearls-of-wisdon kind of way. I think in that case it did add to the story, though I've not seen it since the narrator's story ended and they continued the series.

[loupblanc.livejournal.com]

relax man, no need to be so tense :p

[camele0pard.livejournal.com]

Don't know if I've seen it in books, but it works in movies, doesn't it? Sunset Blvd? I'd call it a typical film noir thing.

[hobbitomm.livejournal.com]

I guess it is. I just object to being told what the thoughts of a character were, in the past tense, without there being any time when she _could_ have told me what they are!

Anyway, I'm happy to private message folks curious about what book it is. It _is_ pretty damn good, actually, despite the niggle.