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| THOUGHTS HAVE BEEN HURTING MY HEAD |
A great many people think they are thinking when they are
really rearranging their prejudices. -
William James (1842 - 1910)
No one knows what we’re thinking unless we choose to reveal
them.
Even when we reveal our thoughts, we censor them and only vocalise
the thought that is most suitable, appropriate or powerful.
In writing thoughts and lectures directed internally can be
used to:
·
heighten emotion
·
lighten the scene
·
allow an additional insight into a character
·
give characters an distinct voice
·
reveal a character’s motivations
·
can reveal a character’s conflict
Thoughts can slow the pace of a scene.
Although thoughts never need speech marks, any kind of
visual marking can be distracting.
I have been experimenting with minimal punctuation:
Mortimer glanced around his
L-terminal, checking to see when the Staff activated the chrys-chip implant switch.
Sometimes there was a look or someone
asked a question. Yawning. Rubbing foreheads. There was never a good reason for stunning learners.
It was a painful abuse of power.
Mortimer glanced around his
L-terminal to check when the Staff activated the chrys-chip implant switch.
Yawning. Rubbing foreheads. There’s
never a good reason for stunning learners. Sometimes there was a look or someone
asked a question. It’s a painful abuse of
power.
DO YOU USE ITALICS TO SHOW THOUGHTS? DO YOU CHANGE TENSES IF YOU DO?
I stay away from italics as much as possible. Good post. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi Summer
ReplyDeleteItalics are very noticeable on the page. Whenever possible, I try to avoid anything that draws more attention to the page than to the world and the characters.
For more than stylistic reasons, I'm leaning towards the second version. The punctuation makes the scene, and the discovery, more inclusive. The reader realises there's a problem along with Mortimer. It also gives Mortimer the opportunity to see everything through his humour filter.
ReplyDelete