How to Write Thoughts in a Story: Tips and Techniques
In this article, I will be talking about character thoughts and how you can use them to make your writing even more captivating.
Whether it’s first or third-person point of view, to convey my characters’ inner thoughts, I find my stories become more immersive and allow my readers to get the best of both worlds of action and reflection.
If you are wondering how to write thoughts in a story, I will give you some tips and techniques to make your narrative more effective and appealing to readers.
Let’s go!
How to Write Thoughts in a Story: What are Character Thoughts?
Within my stories, my characters’ thoughts play a key role in the narration. I use thoughts in various works, with first and third-person point-of-view stories, to better connect my readers with a character and see the story through their eyes.
Through internalization (aka a character’s thoughts), my readers are automatically thrust into their perspective regardless of my story’s point of view.
Likewise, there are two main ways to write thoughts in a story: direct and indirect internalization.
Direct Internalization
Direct internalization is the obvious use of italics to signify when a character’s thoughts are not part of the main narration.
Example:
- “She fell onto the muddy grass. Great, now my shoes are ruined. I despise waiting in the rain, the woman thought.”
Indirect Internalization
However, italics are not always necessary for internalization, particularly if my story is told in a first-person point of view.
Indirect internalization is a method that weaves a character’s thoughts into the narrative without italics by relaying their thoughts for them.
Example:
- “She fell onto the muddy grass. She despised how her shoes were ruined and that she had to continue waiting in the rain.”
How to Write Thoughts in a Story: Using Italics for Direct Thoughts
Although I am not the biggest fan of using italics to convey character thoughts, using them helps if it aligns with the intention of my story.
For example, in one of my college writing workshops, I wrote a short story written in the third person. I would pop my main character’s thoughts into a scene to emphasize important moments.
However, I made sure to use italics sparingly or it would ruin the purpose of writing in the third person.
A few guidelines for using italics:
- Let italics highlight the important moments of your story.
- Use italics sparingly to make a bigger impact when you do use them.
- Ask yourself, “Are the words I’m italicizing still as interesting, meaningful, or engaging if my character were to say this to another character?” If not, then using italics in those lines might be unnecessary.
Example of using italics effectively:
- “She was sitting on a park bench and a handsome, curly-haired stranger sat beside her. Don’t move. Be calm, she thought.”
If my character spoke these thoughts out loud, this interaction likely would go a different direction since what she says almost sounds like a threat. Even more so if my character has an intimidating demeanor or appearance that makes the stranger nervous.
As such, I don’t just use italics to make my narration look fancy or to state the obvious. Instead, I let my characters come alive and influence my story by what they do and don’t say within the narrative.
Indirect Thoughts Through Actions and Dialogue
On the other hand, I don’t need to use italics to convey character thoughts effectively. Instead, that is done through my characters’ actions and dialogue use.
For example, have you ever experienced a moment when you spoke to someone and knew what they were thinking without them deliberately saying it? I know I have.
We all become mind readers because of people’s body language and how someone talks.
For example, I once interacted with a maintenance worker while a woman bothered him about an issue that needed fixing. However, he didn’t need to say much for me to know he was aggravated. He went over to the front door and locked it with a scowl.
Moreover, as he locked it, he said, “I’m going to lock the door,” which I might have considered his words unnecessary if they were found in a storybook. After all, why would I need to be told he was locking it if I already knew what he was doing? But in this context, it was appropriate since he didn’t live there, so he wanted to be sure I wasn’t confused.
When I write my stories, I keep this kind of subtext in mind. Where, when, why, and how a character says something is just as important as *what* they say.
Balancing Thoughts with Narrative Flow
Another element I remember to do when writing my stories is seamlessly integrating character thoughts with narrative flow. Essentially, it’s how I maintain a consistent narrative voice throughout my stories.
Understanding who my character is first is necessary to write effective thoughts, dialogue, and action that enhance my story. If my character’s thoughts do not align with how they would realistically act, my story will feel off-balance or forced in those moments.
Instead, I focus on the purpose of my story and character. If my characters’ thoughts differ from how they act, ask myself, why? What’s stopping them from saying it out loud or telling another character what they think?
Internal thoughts are not mine or your story’s moments of stagnation. They are part of the plot in the same way regular dialogue is.
How to Write Thoughts in a Story: Multiple Characters
Writing the thoughts of multiple characters doesn’t need to be difficult if you know your characters well.
For example, if two characters are conversing but neither likes the other, I highlight their distinct personalities as each reflects on their feelings of disdain for the other. I use their thoughts similarly to how I would use their dialogue—by showcasing each character’s flaws, strengths, personality, and narrative purpose.
I remember when I was a child I would occasionally argue with my friends. Sometimes there was a lot of passive aggression between us and I could pretty much tell when they were angry. Even though I couldn’t read their exact thoughts, I knew we both sounded just like any child throwing a fit would—simple-minded, bitter, and ranting.
We always made up afterward though, so no worries.
Limit Confusion
Likewise, have you ever read a letter, manifesto, or journal entry written by someone else?
These examples are ways I might limit confusion when conveying the internal thoughts of more than one character.
In the case of stories that like to head-hop between characters to convey each viewpoint, readers can often get confused in the shuffle. To combat this, I think of how my characters might uncover someone’s inner thoughts without speaking to them.
For example, if I read a sticky note that someone jotted their internal thoughts down on, I see what they are thinking. Think of it like a scavenger hunt through a character’s mental world.
How to Write Thoughts in a Story: Emphasizing Emotional Depth
Adding depth and complexity to my story through character thoughts is crucial to crafting better stories.
Many struggles and emotional turmoil that I, you, and others experience do not present themselves on the surface of that individual. This is where character thoughts not only become both enhancing and essential.
Thoughts are more than just me providing context to the plot or scenes of dialogue. They also contribute to my characters’ growth that readers recognize and can empathize with.
Using thoughts allows my readers to be pulled in by a character’s internal conflicts and desires that not even the other characters get to witness.
If you want to captivate readers, let them feel and know what your characters feel and know, inside and out.
How to Write Thoughts in a Story: Practice Thought Writing Techniques
Conversely, don’t feel that you have to limit yourself to one style or technique of thought integration.
Some writers use inner thoughts to help readers understand a character better, but others may also like to write internalization that makes one rethink the story’s purpose entirely.
For example, I once wrote a short story in college, and my professor pointed out that I could’ve added more character thoughts to a particular dialogue scene. This scene was a lighthearted exchange between two sisters after an argument: intended to be a comedic moment of rekindling.
However, after revising it to include more of their internal thoughts, I realized internalization not only made the scene more dynamic but opened up additional reader interpretation of it, which is a plus for any story.
Here are a few exercises you can use to write effective character thoughts:
- Remove quotation marks from a character’s dialogue so that their external thoughts become inner thoughts.
- Add subtext to character thoughts to keep readers engaged and make it realistic (just because it’s their mind doesn’t mean a character will fully comprehend their thoughts or inner ramblings).
- Be deliberate about what point of view you use in your story (i.e. first-person, third-person omniscient, or third-person limited). If you don’t have a firm grasp on this basic aspect, experimenting with different methods of writing character thoughts becomes even more difficult.
Final Thoughts
Overall, writing character thoughts requires you to balance narration with internalization, but you are not restricted to just one method.
Using direct internalization involves using italics to show readers what your character thinks. Whereas, indirect internalization lets the main narrator convey those thoughts without using italics.
Strategies such as using internal thoughts for certain scenes instead of dialogue, and being deliberate about what point of view I write with, also affect how my readers interact with and interpret my stories.
However, keeping these tips and techniques in mind should not overshadow the importance of practice and observation in your life.
Writing Character Thoughts
If you want to write character thoughts that compel people to your story and its characters, focus on real people’s behavior and individual circumstances that guide and motivate them.
Internalization should be your writing superpower and you might become a mind reader!
Are you stuck with how to translate your thoughts into a story? Book a Tarafied Talk-it-Out Session, HERE.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is the unspoken dialogue—the part of a text that reveals what’s going on in the head of your character(s) without them openly saying it.
With dialogue, the characters are directly speaking to each other, or simply speaking out loud.
With thoughts, the characters are only speaking inside their heads.
You can, but it’s not obligatory.
Feel free to write the thoughts of your characters using indirect methods, such as having the narrator speak for your character (when using third-person POV).
As for a first-person POV story, you’re already inside their head, so italics aren’t needed there either.
If writing in first-person, you can switch between character perspectives and utilize the techniques mentioned. However, make sure you don’t confuse your reading by head-hopping too much. Complexity is good, but so is clarity.
Know your character and all their nuances. Make their thoughts consistent with who they are, what motivates them, and what they currently comprehend and understand about themselves.
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