Reader trust in a fallible narrator is the story’s hardest task.

Evidence

The narrator is confined to reporting what she or he could realistically know. More than that, although the narrator may certainly interpret actions, deliver dictums, and predict the future, these remain the fallible opinions of a human being. We are not bound to accept them as we are bound to accept the interpretations, truths, and predictions of the omniscient author. You may want us to accept the narrator’s word, and then the most difficult part of your task, and the touchstone of your story’s success, will be to convince us to trust and believe the narrator. — Janet Burroway; Elizabeth Stuckey-French; Ned Stuckey-French, Writing Fiction, Tenth Edition, 533

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes the contract for first-person narrators from that for omniscient authors.
• XREF: connects to: Narrative credibility depends on skill, not factual accuracy. — Janet Burroway; Elizabeth Stuckey-French; Ned Stuckey-French, Writing Fiction, Tenth Edition: A Guide…, 56; Doubt operates as the central heroic value in the novel

Related

• Narrative credibility depends on skill, not factual accuracy. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Narrative credibility depends on skill, not factual accuracy. #expands (0.60) — Janet Burroway; Elizabeth Stuckey-French; Ned Stuckey-French, Writing Fiction, Tenth Edition, 56
• Doubt operates as the central heroic value in the novel #complicates (0.40)