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Young Writers Society


Breaking The Fourth Wall



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Thu Jul 04, 2013 11:06 pm
Willard says...



Hello. I am Strange. Is it really ok breaking the fourth wall in writing?
Especially the way I did it in X?

"Words say little to the mind compared to space thundering with images and crammed with sounds."

stranger, strangelove, drstrangelove, strange, willard
  





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Fri Jul 05, 2013 12:22 am
Rosendorn says...



It is perfectly okay to break the fourth wall. I am not familiar with the example you're referring to, but I can try to give a few tips:

1- The storyteller. These usually address the reader directly like, well, a storyteller.

2- The crazy narrator who has no idea the fourth wall even exists and directly addresses the reader at every opportunity.

3- The lean. This is when the characters don't really address the reader directly, but more acknowledge they're in a work of fiction.

I have seen all forms done well. The main thing to keep in mind is consistency, because pulling out a sudden fourth wall break can be really jarring. Leaning can be done without much of a prerequisite, because it is just a lean that can be more easily worked into a piece compared to a full on break.

TV Tropes has more information on this, along with a ton of examples, but I hesitate linking you to that site because it is highly addictive.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





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Sat Jul 13, 2013 5:00 am
toomanykids says...



everything is ok. you just need to know your purpose
  








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