TheWritingGroup
Writing Group
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2024
- Posts
- 1,678
So it is said. I see looking at New Stories that audio stuff seems to come in bursts, days apart.
--Annie
--Annie
Internal Monologue
- Thread starter SkyBubble
- Start date
SimonDoom
Kink Lord
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2015
- Posts
- 19,892
If you're writing in first person, there's no need for tags of any kind, because the narrative and the interior thought are one and the same.
If you're writing in third person, my preferred answer is to use "free indirect style," which is a style in which the narrative is close to the thought of the person whose point of view the story focuses on. The advantage of this style is that it dispenses with the need of special formatting, like italics, and of the use of interior dialogue tags.
Example:
Jose opened the door of the deserted house nervously. He stepped inside.
"Is anyone there?" he called out.
The interior was deathly quiet. Was anyone inside? What mysteries did the abandoned house conceal?
Jose closed the door behind him and walked slowly past the entryway. The house smelled musty. The corners of the rooms lay in shadow, which might conceal unexpected dangers. Jose shivered.
I think this is much better than "Was anyone inside?" he wondered. There's no need for "he wondered." Just get rid of it. When you write in the free indirect style and stick to it you get rid of the need for all this extraneous stuff -- italics, tags, special formatting, etc. I like to keep it simple. As long as you are consistent, the readers will be on board.
I'm the opposite of Emily in this regard: I've published over 60 stories and never once used an HTML tag. At least, I don't think I have. I can't remember ever using one.
Of course, I'm lazy, and that's part of it.
If you're writing in third person, my preferred answer is to use "free indirect style," which is a style in which the narrative is close to the thought of the person whose point of view the story focuses on. The advantage of this style is that it dispenses with the need of special formatting, like italics, and of the use of interior dialogue tags.
Example:
Jose opened the door of the deserted house nervously. He stepped inside.
"Is anyone there?" he called out.
The interior was deathly quiet. Was anyone inside? What mysteries did the abandoned house conceal?
Jose closed the door behind him and walked slowly past the entryway. The house smelled musty. The corners of the rooms lay in shadow, which might conceal unexpected dangers. Jose shivered.
I think this is much better than "Was anyone inside?" he wondered. There's no need for "he wondered." Just get rid of it. When you write in the free indirect style and stick to it you get rid of the need for all this extraneous stuff -- italics, tags, special formatting, etc. I like to keep it simple. As long as you are consistent, the readers will be on board.
I'm the opposite of Emily in this regard: I've published over 60 stories and never once used an HTML tag. At least, I don't think I have. I can't remember ever using one.
Of course, I'm lazy, and that's part of it.
Lumiere_Amie
Erotica Lover
- Joined
- May 9, 2022
- Posts
- 349
I use italics
Rob_Royale
with cheese
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2022
- Posts
- 6,992
What in the world is going on here? He thought, his eyes going wide with awe.
This works better for me than using quotations.
This works better for me than using quotations.
MillieDynamite
Millie'sVastExpanse
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2021
- Posts
- 10,521
I wonder why we're discussing internal monologue. What is the point of discussing what one discusses in their mind? That reminds me, did you put the meat out to thaw? Yes, yes, I did. Now, where was I? Oh, yeah, thinking. Thinking about what? Dialogue, no, not exactly. And not a monologue either. Oh, I remember that DJ when I was a kid; we'd just moved to the new place. He'd claimed he wasn't a DJ but a monologueist. I wonder if his constant wanderings through long stories and not playing much music were why he got canned? Yeah, probably. Oh, internal monologue, that's what I was thinking about. I wonder if what's his name had monologued in his head instead of the classic station, he might've kept his job longer. Wait, is this an internal monologue? I'd ask Donnie, but he isn't even five, so he wouldn't know.d Or would he? Hey Donnie! Why isn't he coming? Oh, I need to say it, not think it! So much for the psychic connection with him.
