Question re: thinking in third person - Writers Forum

amm · 11-10-2004, 03:23 PM

My main character (third person) thinks quite a bit. I have always written in first person and am unsure how to show thought in third person w/o writing a ton of 'she thought's. I started using italics and then read that these should not be used to show thinking . . . so I'm stuck. Hoping someone can offer some ideas!

Thanks,
Kathy

Kimberly Bird · 11-10-2004, 03:35 PM

Hi amm, I always use italics when the character is thinking. Whoever told you otherwise is sorely mistaken.

Kimberly

Emma LB · 11-10-2004, 03:53 PM

If you like using italics and it works for you then do that, don't let yourself be bound down by some style

. That said I wouldn't use italics if I were you

.

I sometimes say 'he thought', but often I just stick in his thought and the reader can work it out. Normally it's evident what your main character thinks and what is just narrative voice. At least that's what i find. here are some examples:

Quote:

He needed to know for sure what the situation was, how strong the aristocracy was, what they were planning. Life should be easier than this, he thought. All this scheming and posing, such a waste of life really. He was suddenly reminded of a tapestry...

Quote:

He couldn’t blame them, but it made him feel very uncomfortable. He tried to think of something he could talk about. The topic of every other discussion was Alan. If everything else failed he would talk about the food. The bread was just out of reach, he’d have to ask somebody to pass it to him. Oh, well, Krystaed was busy, he’d just have to ask the lord opposite him. If only he knew his name.

I just try to blend Alan's thoughts into the rest.

If others think this is totally wrong, please say so btw.

Nazareth · 11-10-2004, 05:38 PM

Both are fine for wqriting- I prefere seeing the thoughts in italics AND seeing he thought, after the italics. Subconsciously, when I run across italics, I automatically know someone is thinking something or a word is being stressed such as:

My goodness, that was a close call, he thought. He knew he had been lucky to escape being killed by the other woman, and he dropped to his knees and wept.

Some writers use italics, some don't- whatever is comfortable for you I guess- just be consistant throughout

amm · 11-11-2004, 12:38 AM

Thanks everyone. I thought maybe I'd missed something about no italics

I try to use all three: italics, regular print, and ending with she thought. It's so much easier in first person!

Kathy

mammamaia · 11-11-2004, 12:20 PM

emma's examples were excellent... follow her lead, and you'll be writing like a pro... and i second her advice to not use italics, if you want to sell your work...

send a ms to an agent or publisher, typed as kimberly and nazareth suggest, and you'll most likely be immediately seen as an amateur and your work not taken as seriously as if you'd gone with the techniques most seasoned pros use...

some bestselling writers do use italics, but usually only for really long passages of interior dialog... those who opt for using it otherwise, are big enough to get away with it... beginners aren't...

using all three [italics, regular font, and 'she though'] is wrong in any instance, and will have to be corrected by an editor... it's best to look like a pro from the git-go...

if you're writing just for yourself, you can do it however you like, of course...

hugs, maia

ps: don't forget that if using italics for anything, NEVER to put italics in the ms you're submitting... ONLY underline is used to indicate where italics are wanted...

Nazareth · 11-11-2004, 02:57 PM

Oh scuse me Mamma- Sorry- didn't mean to give amaturist advice- guess the 'pros' who use it are amatures too in your mind huh? & they don't simply use it for long drawn out interior dialogue- maybe a quick letter to writers such as Steven King, Michael Connelly and others will set them straight- bet they'll be glad for such sound wisdom

Cripes- Thanks for the snyde comments!

You know- when you ran into problems here before- I went to bat for you defending your right to offer advice through email, and confronting the rudeness of the others posts, but lately I'm seeing what the others first saw in you- You put others down & give advice contrary to the sound advice that others are taught & seem to have a need to lift yourself up by putting others down. Perhaps the others were right awhile back, I guess

Kimberly, please don't take offense to what mmama wrote- A quick trip to the library and a simple quick cursory glance through works done by pros will show she simply couldn't be more wrong

Queasy Dillo · 11-11-2004, 03:49 PM

Personally, I tend to write in a fashion that mixes narration and the thought process of the character. There's a story posted here titled 'Rabbit Ears' (mine, naturally

) It's in the fiction forum, and uses this method.

At least that's how I think I write....I guess I never really put much thought into it.

Emma LB · 11-12-2004, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Queasy Dillo

At least that's how I think I write....I guess I never really put much thought into it.

Neither did I, just did what seemed natural.

Kimberly Bird · 11-12-2004, 06:08 PM

Ha Nazereth, I don't take offence to ignorance, so no feelings hurt here. Thanks for your support though.

Best of luck amm in whatever method you prefer to use.
Kimberly

Bluenoseuk · 11-14-2004, 03:45 PM

If you are writing in third person, I feel it is best if you show thoughts in italics. It adds something different to the story, a new dynamic, and it is more interesting to read than just "he thought, or she thought". Of course, you can use the he thought she thought, but this is for the case of "reported thoughts" from the narrator. To make it more personal use Italics. This is only my opinion btw.

. MOST BOOKS I'VE READ USE ITALICS FOR THOUGHTS!!!