Signals from Fred

In critique, “Signal from Fred” is shorthand for those moments in a text in which the author’s subconscious issues a cry for help, usually by pointing out that the action doesn’t make any sense. A character might say, “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it!” or “This was unbelievable!” or “I can’t make any sense of what’s going on!” All leakage from a mind disturbed by a plot gone terribly, terribly wrong. I recently encountered an entire chapter in which Fred was signaling like mad...