What’s an Unreliable Narrator and How to Write One

Lies, lies, and more lies.

Welcome to understanding an unreliable narrator 101.

An unreliable narrator is exactly as it sounds: unreliable. Untrustworthy. Everything they say needs to be taken with a grain of salt. They mislead or deceive the reader, adding a layer of complexity, intrigue, and depth to the narrative as they keep them guessing with every turn of the page.

The catch of it is, we don’t always know that they’re an unreliable narrator. Sometimes they take us along for the ride and we eat up every word they say. Then, when we finally reach the climax of the story the truth is revealed to us. Maybe we saw the reveal coming from a mile away. Maybe we’re completely shocked. It all depends on the author’s intention and technique.

This type of narrator can be thrilling to read about and just as thrilling to write about. But it can be a bit tricky to get right. That’s why I’ve compiled some tips below for how to write an unreliable narrator.

First, let’s try to understand the different types of unreliable narrators:

• The Deliberate Liar: This narrator intentionally misleads the reader, often to hide something or for personal gain.

• The Naïve Narrator: This can be a child or an innocent character. This narrator doesn’t fully understand the events happening around them, leading to misinterpretations.

• The Mentally Unstable Narrator: Suffering from mental illness or delusions, this narrator’s perception of reality is distorted, leading to unreliable accounts.

• The Biased Narrator: This narrator’s account is distorted by their personal prejudices, emotions, or agenda, altering the narrative in their favor.

• The Exaggerator: This narrator embellishes or exaggerates events, either for dramatic effect or due to an impulse to blow facts out of proportion.

The best way to understand and learn how to write an unreliable narrator is to read as many as you can. While, by all means, there are tips that you can keep in mind, the best way is by studying how other writers have done it, especially those who have done it successfully. Study as many books as possible, decide what you like and don’t like, and what you’d like your own unreliable narrator to sound like on the page.

Some examples of unreliable narrators:

• Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• Patrick Bateman from American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
• Amy Dunne from Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
• June Hayward from Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
• Gilda from Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin

My favorite from this list is June Hayward From Yellowface by R.F. Kuang because I didn’t realize that she was an unreliable narrator until I was deep into the story, even while I kept thinking that the way she expressed herself was a little off — it kinda kept making me do that head tilt thing that dogs do. Eventually, I came to the fascinating realization, and reading the book took on a new level of intrigue and enjoyment for me.

That having been said, once you’ve studied as many unreliable narrators as you can, and you’ve decided what you want to take and what you want to leave, here are some points to keep in mind while creating a narrative with this kind of character at its helm:

• Develop a strong narrator’s voice: Every narrator needs a strong voice — that goes without saying. But I don’t think it’s too strong to say that an unreliable narrator needs one even more so. They need to be convincing, even when they aren’t sure of the facts. Their personality should come through in their narrative style and they need to engage the reader in order to make the unreliability of their narration effective.

• Subtle hints and clues: Drop subtle hints that the narrator may not be reliable. This could be through inconsistencies in their story, reactions from other characters, or details that don’t add up. Keeping the discrepancies between the narrator’s account from the truth too hidden can hurt the narrative. The reader needs to feel in the end that they saw it coming. The suspicion needs to be planted somewhere. But coming out and exposing this too bluntly or too early can also ruin the journey of the unreliable narrator for the reader. There’s a delicate balance to be met here, but nothing that’s impossible to meet!

• Multiple Perspectives: Introducing other viewpoints to contrast with the narrator’s account can help the reader see the discrepancies and question the narrator’s reliability. As with all writing, a balance needs to be applied here. The other character shouldn’t blatantly expose the unreliable narrator too early. Subtlety can be your friend here. Play around with the other characters POVs and see what works best. Do they know or do they only suspect the unreliable narrator? Have they noticed discrepancies in their account of things?

• Gradual Revelation: Slowly revealing the narrator’s unreliability builds suspense and keeps the reader engaged as they try to piece together the truth. Again, this is one of the most important points when writing an unreliable narrator: the foreshadowing needs to be gradual and subtle — as subtle as the flavor of La Croix sparkling water.

• Character Development: Understanding why the narrator is unreliable adds depth and believability to their character. Developing their backstory and motivations will help greatly in grounding the narrative. Regardless of what level of unhinged you’ve set your unreliable narrator at, their motivations can either make or break the credibility of their actions and their narrative, so be sure to know who your character is before setting them down on paper!

To better understand how writing an unreliable narrator might look, here is a sample scenario:

Imagine a story where the narrator describes their home. It’s the home they always dreamed of, with a white picket fence and brightly colored walls, a wrap-around porch, and flowers blooming in the garden. But when they walk around their neighborhood, they make notes of trash piling along the sides of the street. The other houses in the neighborhood are shabby, in need of a paint job. Nature itself is kind of barren here with yards full of overgrown, dried weeds and unpaved roads. Can this dream home truly exist in this environment or is something amiss? The reader will have to keep reading to find out.

Balance, balance, balance. And subtlety. These are the two great takeaways about how to write an unreliable narrator.

Never fear, though! Because an editor can help you assess whether your unreliable narrator is doing the trick. If this is the kind of story you’ve chosen to tell, I think a professional editor’s perspective and feedback can be of great assistance. You want to set your unreliable narrator out into the world to shock readers to the point that they live rent-free inside their heads. An editor can help in making sure all the necessary elements are in place to make it so!

If you’re interested, reach out via e-mail, or DM me on social media to find out how I can best assist you with your novel!