The Ironist

Create an observer of events outside his or her direct experiences, someone who knows more than they let on, who jokes with us (the readers) but who also indirectly reveals a complex reading of the events they are describing. M.H. Abrams, in A Glossary of Literary Terms says "... in Greek comedy the character called the Eiron was a dissembler, who characteristically spoke in understatement and deliberately pretended to be less intelligent than he was." This will be a little like unreliable narrator, but there is a crucial difference that the unreliable narrator does not know he's unreliable. The dissembler or ironist or trickster is a wiseass, a clown perhaps, a teller of tall tales.

500 Words.

Feel free to be this trickster yourself, as the author. What's wrong with a writer interfering with his own fiction, playing around with details, offering suggestions for different endings, beginnings, or life changing moments? You may find this tactic useful, usually in rough drafts, to speak directly to the reader. The pleasure of these interruptions often masks the seriousness of their suggestions for you -- and you can say things to yourself that you may not initially notice about what you're writing. But don't feel hamstrung by the last bit of advice -- create any kind of ironist you want. They can be thrillingly unusual types to introduce to your fiction.