Perspective Series: #9 Author surrogate
Only the last perspective is missing to complete the author/narrator Perspectives Series overview: Author surrogate. The surrogate author is a substitute for the author within the narrative. Let’s take a look at its characteristics and how best to use this technique.
What is the Author surrogate?
As the term itself suggests, the surrogate author is a surrogate of the author. It is a character inserted within the narrative who takes on the author’s characteristics.
It is possible to create a character with a different name, physical characteristics, and personality but who in some way has a direct link with the author of the narrative.
The aim is to allow the author to write their own opinion or make this surrogate character react as they would if they were inside their own story. However, the reader can not understand that this is a character unless the author does not want to reveal it.
Some examples of Author surrogate
In fiction, there are many examples of this perspective. As already mentioned, the reader is often surprised when they learn of the link between one of the characters in the story and the author themself. This is because there is no explicit element linking one to the other.
For example, in Jurassic Park, author Michael Crichton thought of creating the eccentric character Ian Malcolm to express through him his ideas about cloning and the failure of the whole project.
Similarly, going further back in time, Plato, in his writings and in particular in his “Apology of Socrates“, uses the character of Socrates to express his thoughts and concepts.
Stephen King has also often used this technique. Think of the many characters in his novels, such as The Shining, Misery, or The Dark Half. The main characters are all writers, just like their author.
What is the aim of an Author surrogate?
An author may choose to use this Perspective for different reasons.
Firstly, to express ideas and opinions that they have never expressed before as an author. An author of novels cannot express their opinions in the same way as a columnist. One of the ways to do this is to create an Author surrogate.
Secondly, the link between author and character is something that can strike the reader and serve as a twist, especially when revealed at the end of the story. In this way, even after finishing the reading, the reader will be pleasantly impressed by what they have learned.
Use bibisco to choose the best Perspective
With this Perspective on the author’s figure, we have explained all the techniques related to the narrator. In this way, you can choose which method of writing best suits you and your narrative.
bibisco can help you with this choice. Thanks to its novel writing software, bibisco can help you decide whether to create an Author surrogate or rely on a Third-person narration, for example.
Conclusions
The Author surrogate technique can be very useful in several respects.
It allows the author to express something more of themself while disguising themself in the guise of a character. The technique also allows the author to leave the reader with a feeling of a twist if they detect that the author is hiding under the narrative’s main character.
