Thread: Breaking the Fourth Wall: How Can I Do It?

Uhm, hello there!

Well, there's this writing competition I've registered in at another forum (it's a game forum) and the theme of the competition is "Breaking the Fourth Wall."

My question: How could I Break the Fourth Wall without my story being a comedy? I've tried numerous plots only to find I can't break the fourth wall in them. Any advice on this one? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Originally Posted by TheFuhrer02

Uhm, hello there!

Well, there's this writing competition I've registered in at another forum (it's a game forum) and the theme of the competition is "Breaking the Fourth Wall."

My question: How could I Break the Fourth Wall without my story being a comedy? I've tried numerous plots only to find I can't break the fourth wall in them. Any advice on this one? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Psychotic murderer?

Reality defect?

Think about Misery, by Stephen King. Annie, the fan (reader, audience) decides to get involved in the writing process because she's angry the writer has killed off her favorite character. This is sort of a reverse on the play character addressing the audience as part of the play, or breaking the fourth wall. In Misery, the audience forces its way into the play. Does that make sense, or am I being simplistic?

JohnB

I don't know what the fourth wall is. Is it an americanism?

Originally Posted by spider8

I don't know what the fourth wall is. Is it an americanism?

If you were at a theatre, watching a play, you would see the three "walls": the back of the stage, and the two sides. The fourth "wall" is the invisible one between the events happening on the stage, which are presumably self-contained, and you the audience. Traditionally, it was seen as bad form to break the fourth wall because it destroyed the audience's suspension of disbelief. It can however be a useful tactic to engage the audience (as in the example of S. King's "Misery" above). Did I answer your question?

I've read this thread several times, and think that maybe I can offer a suggestion. I'm biased, as a psychologist, but when I hear 'fourth wall', I keep imagining the stages of grief:

1: Denial
2: Anger
3: Bargaining
4: Depression
5: Acceptance

Breaking that fourth wall can be quite hard...

Yes. You answered it. Thx.

btw, you know Misery was about S.King's alcoholism, right? Annie Wilkes represented alcohol.

Originally Posted by spider8

Yes. You answered it. Thx.

btw, you know Misery was about S.King's alcoholism, right? Annie Wilkes represented alcohol.

I had no idea! I'll have to read that again with that in mind; very interesting.

Thanks to everyone for giving your suggestions, esp. Eli, who gave the theme. Btw, I've decided to merge the "psychotic" part with the "Reality Defect." Again, a lot of thanks.