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Q&A Inside your character's head - when does it become too much?

I've read that leaving your character alone for too long can spell death for your novel. That you should put them out there in the world so they can interact with other characters. That you shouldn...

1 answer  ·  posted 6y ago by GGx - Reinstate Monica Cellio‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T07:45:42Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/32727
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar GGx - Reinstate Monica Cellio‭ · 2019-12-08T07:45:42Z (over 4 years ago)
I've read that leaving your character alone for too long can spell death for your novel. That you should put them out there in the world so they can interact with other characters. That you shouldn't leave them inside their heads thinking aloud. But there's an element of that that doesn't feel real to me. After all, we all spend a great deal of time inside our own heads.

So, how do you strike a balance? How much time inside their head is too much time? Is it okay, if your character sits in the bath lamenting for 1,200 words, so long as those 1,200 words are quite amusing and interesting? Or does it spell death? Should I ditch that entirely and bring another character into the mix?

I mean, look at The Girl on the Train, she spent thousands of words lamenting on the train. So how much is too much?

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2018-01-22T18:50:50Z (over 6 years ago)
Original score: 6