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Writers are kind of like the gods of their creations. We speak sometimes of characters going “off script” and writing themselves against our expectations, but let’s face it, if we really wanted to we could smite that free will right out of them. We are the omniscient beings, looking into all the heads, knowing (mostly) where the paths will lead.
Jeez, that’s a lot of pressure.
No but seriously, I had to pause in the midst of writing this week’s installment of the comic in order to go back through the archives and make sure if Lacey was present or not when Frank gave Chuck and Rosa his dictate that Rosa was never to leave Chuck’s side. Turns out that yes, Lacey was, and that makes a big difference in the subtext of the current scene even if she doesn’t end up bringing it up to Suzie out loud.
If Lacey wasn’t there, then even though I know it and the audience knows it, Lacey would not. She’s not an omniscient being. She and the other characters still have to operate within the bounds of their own limited experience, and the writer has to continually be aware of and manage that.
Omniscience, man. It’s a hell of a job.
One thought on “What do they know and when do they know it?”
Otaku
Heh, I look at what you wrote and, if anything, it stresses how the author is NOT omniscient. As amazing as a good story can be, its creators are NOT all knowing, perfect beings, and most definitely can be wrong. I’m not even talking about the subjective stuff, but I mean they can make factual errors because they simply do NOT remember everything, and themselves don’t even know everything about their creations, let alone the real world.
A writer can write anything into their story, but when they self-contradict, they self-contradict. When they get a fact wrong, they can try to play it up as “Well, that’s how it works in MY story!” but now they have to try and make sure it actually DOES work. When it does come to somewhat subjective matters, like whether or not someone in the story is behaving “in character”, I’m going to err on the side of “Well, I’ve written stories. Trust me; I’ve goofed and had someone behave out of character. I didn’t just write a poor story, I wrote the character wrong.”
Yeah, I’m just some silly fanboy, but professionals can still make the same mistake. Just hopefully much, much less often. 😀