Thoughts & 1st Person
Asked by Lee Anne Womack on February 22, 2020
Since italics is discouraged in today's market, how should I write my character's thoughts?
My story is in 1st person, & I understand that means everything is her perspective on the situation. However, there are places where I want the wording to be more like dialogue, even though she is only engaging herself. I want it to break from the narrative writing. The narration is written in past tense. Her thoughts are in present tense.
I've listened to videos where you have spoken to this, but I'm still not sure what is best to do. You mentioned making it clear that it is the character thinking, but will it be confusing if that is done by a change of tense? If I change tenses, will a publisher reject it? Is there a better way than tense changes?
Thank you for all of your help. I've been a member of the guild less than a month & already see improvement in my writing and thinking.
Jerry's Answer
No, changing tenses (and devoting a separate paragraph to thought) is exactly how you want to do it. That should make it crystal clear.
Example:
I entered the store with no idea whether my friend would meet me there as promised.
If he doesn't show, I swear...
He assured me he'd be there, which meant a lot to me. No way did I want to tackle this problem myself.
Great. He's already ten minutes late. What am I supoosed to do if he stands me up?