Author Intrusion

I think it depends on what you mean by authorial intrusion. I think Lemony Snicket uses an authorial POV, ie a narrator with a distinctive character, which is undoubtedly not that of the person calling himself Lemony Snicket. I think that works well.

I'm unsure in what context you mean author intrusion. If you mean author as narrator, like the old-school omniscient viewpoint, I think it's fine as long as it's consistent. It's when it becomes a pause for the cause, like "I interrupt this story to bring you the following authorial announcement," and the author then proceeds to dump a pile of info in the middle of everything. That's not okay. It's intrusive, and thus the label authorial intrusion.

Depends, of course, on how well you do it.

In any case, it's probably better than author extrusion.

caw

When the narrator suddenly addresses the audience: 'You would think' etc, it just yanks me out of the story. I can't talk back and I can't ignore it.

The writer could mention a character, or in general: 'one would think', or 'a reasonable person would think' but saying you more times than not jars me from an otherwise enjoyable read.

Has to be done right or not at all. If it's a distraction and pulls the reader out of a moment... SCRAP IT!

I'd accept it if the narrator feels like a character and the novel is light-hearted. In serious and darker novels, it just doesn't work for me.

I enjoy it when it's done well. It seems to work best in satirical or light-hearted pieces though. I've never seen it done in a drama.

TrickyFiction said:

I enjoy it when it's done well. It seems to work best in satyrical or light-hearted pieces though. I've never seen it done in a drama.

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Well, if you go back to the days of Aeschylus and Sophocles you had the chorus.

caw

HeronW said:

When the narrator suddenly addresses the audience: 'You would think' etc, it just yanks me out of the story. I can't talk back and I can't ignore it.

The writer could mention a character, or in general: 'one would think', or 'a reasonable person would think' but saying you more times than not jars me from an otherwise enjoyable read.

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What if it's done from deep third person? As in, the "You would think" is actually the MC speaking in her head?

Takvah said:

Has to be done right or not at all. If it's a distraction and pulls the reader out of a moment... SCRAP IT!

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I agree with this. I don't see it that often, that I can think of, and if a comment is out of place, I really notice it. It has to fit the story which is why you can get away with it if it's your style of writing.

Clare

Writer's have many choices each choice limits what you can do, and also changes how the story is told. choosing which person to write in is probably one of the hardest choices.

blacbird said:

Well, if you go back to the days of Aeschylus and Sophocles you had the chorus.

caw

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That's true. I hadn't thought of that.


BTW, WillSmall, I'm also reading Alex and The Ironic Gentleman.
It's cracking me up, especially the paperwork... so cute.

HeronW said:

When the narrator suddenly addresses the audience: 'You would think' etc, it just yanks me out of the story. I can't talk back and I can't ignore it.

The writer could mention a character, or in general: 'one would think', or 'a reasonable person would think' but saying you more times than not jars me from an otherwise enjoyable read.

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That sort of intrusion drives me batty. Suddenly, the reverie is broken and I'm pulled out of the story, being told what and how to think. I don't think it contributes to a narrative voice and I do not think it is a handy technique.

I am not familiar with the Lemony Snicket books, so I cannot comment regarding the narrative style used there.

HeronW said:

When the narrator suddenly addresses the audience: 'You would think' etc, it just yanks me out of the story.

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I agree. I find author intrusion to be jarring. My reaction is usually, "Where the hell do you come from?"

Here's a typical example:

As the dust settled, Bob turned from the scene and walked away, never knowing that tomorrow would be the worst day of his life.

Really? Don't tell me it'll be the worst day, show me why as it happens and let me be the judge.

If it helps, the viewpoint Lemony Snicket uses is active narrator. There's a description of it on FM that might be helpful, though you'll need to register view it.

I did try it on a scene in my book and found it quite fun to write, though it wasn't right the book. But I was able to use active narrator to pull in a lot of humor in some unexpected ways. If the narrator overseeing the story has the right kind of personality, it can add another dimension to the story.

I think for me it's all about consistency. I enjoyed Lemony Snicket's narrative style, because it's used throughout. (And I loved the way he introduces vocabulary and clarifies meaning.)

I am annoyed if the narrator intrudes only a few times in the book, either for no discernible purpose or for an all-too-discernible purpose. I wonder...where did you come from?

I like a bit of narrative intrusion, for example RA MacAvoy's Damiano series. But it is unfashionable and so not a 'safe' choice for a writer.

I prefer it if the narrator IS the main character - Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett is a classic use of this. And it is no where close to 'lighthearted'.

Mind you, I can see it if the narrator is not really art of the story...

veinglory said:

But it is unfashionable and so not a 'safe' choice for a writer.

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/cry --is no one else bothered by trends? =(

The world changes. Besides, I don't think anyone encourged authors to chase every trend. Just be aware of them.

It works for Terry Pratchett. But, again, it works there because of the comic tone. Which is why it works in the Lemony Snicket books. And why it worked in the Hitchhiker's Guide books.

First off, awesome that you were reading my blog, and awesome that you like my book, and awesome that a post of mine sparked a thread topic! And by awesome I also mean thanks, I am very flattered.

On to the topic. As you can already see you've gotten quite a few different views on authorial intrusion (something, in case it wasn't clear in the OP's post, I do use in Alex). I should clarify that I don't think it is frowned upon as in "you shouldn't do this in good writing", but rather it appeals to very specific tastes. Like what IceCream said, it often suits a comic tone very well.

I find Lemony Snicket a good and bad example. He is a perfect example of an author speaking directly to the reader, but at the same time he is technically a character in the books as well. I think this makes his intrusion a lot more acceptable than, say, even mine. When I read books as a kid, and the author suddenly addressed me (the good old fashioned "dear reader" thing) I thought that that was so cool and it stuck with me. That's why I use it, I like it. Some however really don't. They want the story and, like others have already mentioned, they find an author suddenly addressing them takes them out of the magic of being totally immersed in another world. Totally understandable.

I also agree that if an author is going to do this sort of intrusion, it really should be consistent, and not just a few times. Otherwise it can almost look like a mistake, almost lazy.

But done well, I find author intrusion can be lovely, and very funny. But it definitely isn't widely loved. It is a very specific style of writing and will appeal to very specific tastes. That's why, I imagine, editors and agents caution against using it, because it isn't as universally loved, and to be honest, not that easy to do without it being obnoxious.

As ever the most important thing is to write a good story, and use whatever methods of telling that are most appropriate for it. You can do anything you want, as long as you do it well!

Authorial intrusion reminds the reader they're reading a story.

We've already mentioned upstream that it works well in comedy. I think it also can work in that... sort of self-aware literary type of story, like f'rex some of Nabokov's work.

But if you're trying to build drama by getting the reader so immersed they're reacting emotionally, it's probably not a good choice. Since being reminded that you're reading a story can often break tension rather than build it.