Italics for Inner Thoughts?

[Richard Sutton]

When I read, I hate slowdowns. One of my pet peeves are long sections of "inner thoughts' that are presented in First Person POV with no quote marks or anything else to key the reader that "this is inner thought". As a result, I use it sparingly in my own books (rarely more than a sentence or a few words), but when I do, I use italics to signify to the reader exactly what they're reading. Now I hear that's "frowned upon" by some editor-gods somewhere. What do you all think?

 

[Karen Gray]

I totally agree with you @Richard Sutton. I use italics myself for a variety of things including inner thought, flashbacks and mental communication, though the latter is coupled with speech marks. I think the distinction is essential, otherwise we will just end up confusing the reader.

 

[Alistair Roberts]

I'd have to agree. I only use short sentences for inner thoughts but confess I haven't used italics, but probably I should ;-)

 

[Stephen Drake]

I use a lot of italics in my novels, since telepathy is a major part of the plots and I enclose them in quotes (for the telepathic conversations). However, I also use italics when someone if talking to character and that character has a mental remark about what's being said. I dislike reading books where I, as the reader, get confused or ones that break my reading rhythm. Reading should be fun, and those little things make it not so fun, in my opinion.

 

[Diamond]

The question of italics doesn't have a one-size-fits-all answer. I think a lot depends on the narrator and the book's overall point-of-view. In a novel told from a third-person POV, especially one with an omniscient narrator, using italics makes sense. However, some claim the use of italics distances the reader from the story. As a reader myself, I have to agree. It's just a visceral reaction I can't really explain, so don't ask me why. Maybe that's why I personally prefer a no-italics approach. And, let's not forget the first-person POV. Considering the reader experiences events through the mind and senses of the main character, using italics to designate thoughts would be redundant and really annoying. Worse, it would destroy that special closeness with the narrator that first-person creates. Think of The Hunger Games. It's told in first-person/present tense. None of Katniss's thoughts are in italics and fans don't seem to have any problems with that.

Punctuation and grammar are secondary to telling a great story. The best-seller, The Dog Stars, didn't even bother putting the dialogue into parentheses, but readers were able to sort it out anyway. If that's the case, sorting out inner dialogue ought to be a snap.

 

[Stephen Drake]

The question of italics doesn't have a one-size-fits-all answer. I think a lot depends on the narrator and the book's overall point-of-view. In a novel told from a third-person POV, especially one with an omniscient narrator, using italics makes sense.

Now you know what my book's overall POV is.

 

[NickP]

All of Joe Abercrombie's books are master-classes of accessible style and point of view. Yes, he uses italics for the inner voice of the point of view character, but I contest that if you are in a single point of view, basically it shouldn't matter much. The distinctive flavour of the character should make it clear what is happening. In fact, even in 3rd person unless you are using a distant narrator, the point of view character is going to pervade everything...effectively we are using their senses (and thoughts and reactions).

 

[Carol Rose]

As in everything, less is more. Long passages of italics are difficult to read. I use them sparingly.

 

[Karen Gray]

As in everything, less is more. Long passages of italics are difficult to read. I use them sparingly.

Always a great rule to remember in pretty much everything these @Tara Rose

 

[Meerkat]

Punctuation and grammar are secondary to telling a great story.

I completely disagree, but then I would. ;-) I can't follow a story if it's poorly written, and it seems odd to me not to learn the craft if one is going to write fiction. Punctuation and grammar are very easy to learn, so why wouldn't a writer do so?

As for italics, I use them sparingly for characters' thoughts. I can't think offhand of anything I've read that does or doesn't, so it probably is just a matter of taste, since I can't recall being bothered one way or the other by it.

 

[Diamond]

I completely disagree, but then I would. ;-) I can't follow a story if it's poorly written, and it seems odd to me not to learn the craft if one is going to write fiction. Punctuation and grammar are very easy to learn, so why wouldn't a writer do so?

As for italics, I use them sparingly for characters' thoughts. I can't think offhand of anything I've read that does or doesn't, so it probably is just a matter of taste, since I can't recall being bothered one way or the other by it.

You only disagree with what you think I'm saying. In fact, I believe punctuation and grammar are critical. They should be executed properly so as not to draw attention to themselves. For the most part, readers don't care about punctuation until they spot something wrong, so its important to get it right. Proper execution allows readers to forget about the mechanics of writing and simply immerse themselves in a great story. However, punctuation and grammar are there to serve the story. It's never the other way around.

 

[David Steele]

I've used two formats in the same book, depending on the context.

Example 1 -

It irritated him when property was damaged, but there was always damage when dealing with demons. Just once, he thought, it would be nice to settle these problems in a wide open field, with nothing to spoil but daisies.
​

Example 2 -

What about Doris? He remembered the way she had danced. The way she had been the centre of attention. He’d done her a great deal of good last night by boosting her confidence. He hadn’t exactly done her any harm, had he?
Had he?
Numbness washed over him as if he had stepped into death’s own cloak. The last trace of colour drained from his cheeks and he sank heavily onto his bed. Exactly what had he promised her last night? And where had she gone after the party had finished?
​

Both of the examples above have moments of inner dialogue, but while the first is a literal quotation of what is being thought, the second is a window onto the character's thought process.

Would you have handled them differently?

 

[Stephen Drake]

I've used two formats in the same book, depending on the context.

Example 1 -

It irritated him when property was damaged, but there was always damage when dealing with demons. Just once, he thought, it would be nice to settle these problems in a wide open field, with nothing to spoil but daisies.
​

Example 2 -

What about Doris? He remembered the way she had danced. The way she had been the centre of attention. He’d done her a great deal of good last night by boosting her confidence. He hadn’t exactly done her any harm, had he?
Had he?
Numbness washed over him as if he had stepped into death’s own cloak. The last trace of colour drained from his cheeks and he sank heavily onto his bed. Exactly what had he promised her last night? And where had she gone after the party had finished?
​

Both of the examples above have moments of inner dialogue, but while the first is a literal quotation of what is being thought, the second is a window onto the character's thought process.

Would you have handled them differently?

I would have done it the same way...

 

[Robinne Weiss]

I, too, use italics sparingly for inner thoughts. Mostly, I use them to emphasize intense inner thoughts--things that scream inside a character's head. I tried to break the habit of italics when I was first told it was a no-no, but then I looked back on the books I loved, books that were incredibly successful, and almost all of them used italics for thoughts (though sparingly). I took that as permission to do the same.

 

[Jason Byrne]

Italics for you MontanaMan are similar to quotation marks. First example that comes to mind is the Animorphs books, from when I was a little kid.

I tend to use a third-person limited perspective as a happy medium, with italicized direct thoughts very sparingly, for when the character thinks something that just couldn't be put any better way, and can't really be considered narrative.
Example:
He stood rooted in place for a short while, staring. Of course this would happen, and only this morning of all mornings. What was he going to do? He ran through the alternatives in his mind, panic steadily wending up his paths of thought, further incapacitating him.
I've got to get the tap-dancing-**** out of here.

 

[Meerkat]

You only disagree with what you think I'm saying. In fact, I believe punctuation and grammar are critical. They should be executed properly so as not to draw attention to themselves. For the most part, readers don't care about punctuation until they spot something wrong, so its important to get it right. Proper execution allows readers to forget about the mechanics of writing and simply immerse themselves in a great story. However, punctuation and grammar are there to serve the story. It's never the other way around.

Ah, ok! I misunderstood! And I agree completely.