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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/22042
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I'm currently writing a story that is being told from 3rd person that switches perspectives frequently, but I'd like to focus on only one character's train of thought for a paragraph. The thoughts aren't in the first person, though the thoughts are not part of narration.

Example:

> Rhea sees this, and decides to act, knowing that Colton is the one that knows Leeanna almost as well as Emma does, and understanding that the people watching the camera probably know that, too.
> 
> "Just think about it," Rhea tells her, making eye contact, as Leeanna and Colton often do.
> 
> Emma, still staring at the door, thinks logically through her cause of worry.
> 
> Leeanna had been taken to an unknown room for an unknown reason, though Emma's best guess is that it wasn't so they could give her a cake. She could be in trouble, but yet again, this man needs them, he wouldn't hurt them if he knew it could prevent them from fulfilling his needs. So, chances are that Leeanna isn't actually being hurt. But, they may be attempting to control her, using whatever way they had of getting inside of their heads. Even so, those men think she's Emma, when she's actually not. Whatever they're doing to her is going to be aimed at Emma's powers, so it shouldn't affect Leeanna much at all. Really, Emma does not have much reason to be concerned.
> 
> Just like that, she feels the worry dissuade.

The center paragraph is all Emma's thoughts. Passages like these happen frequently throughout the novel, though it's more their thought process than their direct thoughts. For direct thoughts, I usually use italics to differentiate between direct thoughts and dialogue, but in this case is it necessary to use phrases like "Emma thinks" and "Emma understands" since the passage features multiple perspectives?

How would one differentiate between the narration and the character's thought process?

Original score: 1