In my most recent project, the narrator isn't the main character, but rather just giving her thoughts on what she knows about this girl's story. I'm mainly going to expand on her character through her voice and some pictures I'm going to include (a la House of Leaves). Any warning or tips? I'm a bit apprehensive about this, but I think it makes it more real for the audience. Thanks! Dark
Make sure that the narrator is a person in their own right, with their own motivations and reasons for their knowledge of someone else's life. The clouding of their judgement, and the way that they mis/perceive the events unfolding could contribute something unexpected to the story as well. Check out 'The Great Gatsby'... It's definitely possible to pull-off a narrator who is not the main character. Just be aware of their limitations. Good luck!
Ya beat me to the Gatsby recommendation. I agree that it's possible, but that there is going to be a limit here. I think Gatsby worked (for me) because even though the narrator felt passive at times, I was still interested in how he filtered the information to me (the reader), if that makes sense.
One flew over the cuckoo's nest ? I suppose that's a good example, read it and agree or write me a bruising note. I like abuse. -pG "So much for that...
Another thing to remember when doing a seperate narrator/mc is that depending on how the narrator presents the information and they're views, it will greatly influence how your readers see your main character. So be careful on how you present stuff, a simple misunderstanding can greatly destroy the point you were working for.
Moby Dick is actually an interesting (and much more complex) example, since it features what can only be described as an omniscient, disembodied first person narrator. I wrote a post about it a long time ago, its here if you want to read it.
Excellent idea! Kudos for experimenting, don't let anyone discourage you. Yes, there are some novels that have used that method and quite effectively, but that shouldn't matter! This is your story, experiment with it, use it however you want. If it feels right, keep it, if it doesn't, tweak it until it does.
