Feasible -Character dislikes the way their story is written?

So yes I've a character who's rather jaded. He's a swashbuckler/circus-freak/diplomat who's been on the receiving end of some matters of hostorical expedience. Feeling the pawn, he feels the very notion of heroic tales to be far fetched and white-washed. Funnily, he's also in one.

Can a character actually refer to his dislike for his own tale (and that of his comrades) or is it too close to breaking the fourth wall (a bit of a no-no in the fantasy genre in terms of realism)?

Alternatively this could easily be me giving myself the excuse to have a nemesis within my own works, striving against my storytelling and critiquing me from within the piece itself.

So....I don't even remember the question. I'm pretty sure it had something to do with the feasibility of self-reference within a work relying largely on a tenuous facade of realism.

Hmm... This is an interesting question.

So your character is genre savvy? Personally, I think this can be pushed a little bit without making it too Fourth-Wall-Breaking, but there is a fine balance you'd have to keep.

I wouldn't overdo it (the idea of an inner adversary critiquing you from the inside seems almost a little too much for the kind of story I am guessing yours is, but could certainly be done) but a little comment now and again (ex. " *exasperated* Of course he went back on his word. The villain always lies!") wouldn't hurt and would show your character really does know what he's about.

Try looking at that link for "genre savvy". There's quite a few interesting examples (and the site itself is absolutely amazing, but extremely addicting, so enter at your own risk) and it might give you some hints.

~GryphonFledgling

Breaking the fourth wall makes my heart sing and dance with joy. It makes the beautiful flowers bloom and the first rays of sunshine burst forth into the frost-edged summer morning. It makes the butterflies happy and the kittens cuddly. It is what makes the sky blue, the apples red, and the leaves green. It is the essence of all that is good and noble in this world.

So do it. (Sorry, I'm a little crazy about the fourth wall)

Gryph,

First......even forewarned by the disclaimer I was totally sucked in by that link for hours, the site is amazing.

Second, thezombiehunters is awesome.

Finally, cheers for the insights. The character will certainly be genre savvy, but also exhibiting traces of rage against heaven in that he simply does not like the cards he was dealt (and demands a shuffle and redeal). Given that he can never conceptually be a main character (he has no individual fate) it may be easier to keep to the less frequent, more humorous asides, like the example you used; rather than epic, plot altering insights.


Lukas: cheers buddy I'll keep your support for the idea in mind.