![]() Ramsay, taking her place at the head of the table, and looking at all the plates making white circles on it. ![]() Take, for example, this passage of internal monologue in Woolf’s novel To the Lighthouse:īut what have I done with my life? Thought Mrs. Use inner monologue to show the personal associations people make. Use internal monologue similarly to show your characters at important decision-making crossroads. This gives the scene tension and immediacy (a sense of engaging involvement in the action). ![]() The internal monologue shows the character weighing different outcomes – meeting the men on the stairs or not. Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment (1866). Note how even though the passage is in third person, the wording, capturing fleeting impressions, makes it feel as though we are in Rodion’s mind:īut at the same instant several men talking loudly and fast began noisily mounting the stairs įilled with despair he went straight to meet them, feeling ‘come what must!’ If they stopped him – all was lost if they let him pass – all was lost too they would remember him they were only a flight from him – and suddenly deliverance! A few steps from him, on the right, there was an empty flat with the door wide open, the flat on the second floor where the painters had been at work, and which, as though for his benefit, they had just left. In this scene, Raskolnikov is about to make his getaway after murdering a pawnbroker near the start of the novel. Throughout the novel, we witness Raskolnikov’s anxious, paranoid state of mind. Inner monologue is useful for showing characters’ private dilemmas, their internal conflicts.ĭostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment is full of good examples. Reveal their impressions, questions and associations in the moment. Use italics like this to take us deeper into a character’s mind. Secondly, it succinctly reveals a key detail about the other character’s appearance. Why is this internal monologue effective?įirstly, it gives us a keen sense of Luisa’s voice (her use of the curse word ‘hell’ indicating her ‘tough cookie’ persona). Hell, Luisa thinks, he looks like he’s been given a week to live. ‘Glad the age of chivalry isn’t totally dead.’ The elevator doors close just as Luisa Rey reaches them, but the unseen occupant jams them with his cane. Take this example, also from Cloud Atlas: In third-person limited, a little internal monologue can be a useful filtering device for slipping into a character’s private consciousness and describing their impressions. When your protagonist is the first-person narrator in your story, they can describe other characters simply in narration.įor example, your character might see a frail looking man and narrate ‘he looked like he had a week to live.’ Inner monologue here, by revealing Luisa’s unspoken thoughts mid-conversation, adds to her character while also illustrating her relationship with her boss. Luisa’s knack for spinning stories to get herself out of trouble.The power Grelsch has over Luisa as his employee – it shows Luisa’s awareness of the balance of power in this conversation.‘I phoned the precinct where Sixsmith’s case was processed.’ David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas (2004). I can’t batter you, I can’t fool you, I can only hook your curiosity. Her boss is berating her for missing a meeting: The character Luisa Rey, an investigative journalist, has found out about a dangerous environmental coverup. Here’s an example from David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas. Yet you can also create immediacy by making characters’ actual thoughts intrude on the scene. Or, if you’re using third person limited point of view: ‘Luisa was apprehensive when she approached the building.’ Often a protagonist-narrator will simply state how they feel in narration.įor example: ‘I was apprehensive when I approached the derelict building.’ Use inner monologue to reveal unspoken thoughts Let’s explore these ideas on writing inner monologue further: 1. Use inner monologue to reveal unspoken thoughts.How and why might you use internal monologue? How to use inner monologue in stories: In prose, inner monologue typically reveals a character’s private impressions, desires, frustrations or dilemmas. In a play, especially in Shakespeare, a monologue (such as when the villain Iago in Othello expresses his wicked plans) is often used to reveal a character’s secret thoughts or intentions. Learn more on how to use inner monologue effectively: First, what is ‘inner monologue’?Ī ‘monologue’ literally means ‘speaking alone’, if we go back to the word’s roots. Inner monologue gives readers more private feelings and dilemmas. Dialogue reveals character relationships, their converging or competing goals. Internal or inner monologue is a useful literary device.
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