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11-30-2007, 05:47 AM
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#1
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: France
Gender: Male
Posts: 15
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writing someone's thoughts
Can anyone help please?
Should someone's thoughts be written in italics, or inverted commas, or anyhthing else?
Similarly, someone talking to themselves, such as-
Come on Guy where are you Molly said to herself - how should that be punctuated.
any advice appreciated, thank you.
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11-30-2007, 06:07 AM
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#2
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Adept Writer
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: The safety of my head
Gender: Male
Posts: 818
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Italics. That's the general rule. Sometimes I've seen a colon in front of each paragraph when it's two people psychically talking, but still italics.
__________________
"It's always fun until someone gets hurt, and then it's just hilarious"
Ricochet - Faith No More
"Walk softly, and carry a big gun."
Force Commnander - Dawn of War
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11-30-2007, 06:55 AM
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#3
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Prolific Writer
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 288
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Yer, i've always been told italics as well.
Come on Guy where are you, Molly said to herself.
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11-30-2007, 08:45 AM
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#4
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Prolific Writer
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Florida
Gender: Male
Posts: 222
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Rose,
There’s a couple of ways to approach it depending on whether your story is written in first or third. If it’s in first, you’ve already established the MC POV interior thoughts which are just about everything that is not dialog.
In third person, you can do it in at least two ways. If you’ve established that the MC thinks in first person, then just place the interior thoughts in italics with no "she thought" tag. If it's rare that the MC thinks in first person, express the interior thoughts in normal font style followed by a “she thought” tag.
Let’s take your example: Come on Guy where are you Molly said to herself. Because “she said”, that means it is dialog. It should be:
“Come on Guy, where are you?” Molly said to herself.
If it’s an interior, first person thought, then it can be:
Come on guy, where are you?
Or
Come on guy, where are you? she thought.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
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11-30-2007, 08:49 AM
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#5
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Wordsmith
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: South-east UK
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,844
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Heh. The Moore guy beat me to it.
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11-30-2007, 08:55 AM
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#6
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Prolific Writer
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Earth... for now.
Posts: 430
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I've seen it done both ways. Most of the stuff I've read used no italics and rarely even a "he thought tag." Read "Ender's Game" for a good example.
__________________
"The writer you envy today will probably have reason to envy you tomorrow." - Orson Scott Card
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11-30-2007, 09:36 AM
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#7
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: France
Gender: Male
Posts: 15
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Excellent, thanks everyone, that really helps.
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