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Q&A In a first-person web novel, how to make the reader aware of a motivator the POV is unaware of?

Ensure there's enough objective external cues to indicate precisely that. For example, did his throat start to sting or his eyes tear up when he saw his enemy in pain? In addition, perhaps have him...

posted 5y ago by Matthew Dave‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T10:06:39Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/39930
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Matthew Dave‭ · 2019-12-08T10:06:39Z (over 4 years ago)
Ensure there's enough objective external cues to indicate precisely that. For example, did his throat start to sting or his eyes tear up when he saw his enemy in pain? In addition, perhaps have him confuse his feelings for a similar, but considerably less friendly feeling, like pity.

You can get creative too, talk about an internal conflict using his actions; for example, his weapon-bearing hand may shake as he raises his sword/puts his finger on the trigger, before ultimately he lowers his weapon. Perhaps he himself asks 'What am I doing?' - initially it may seem like he's asking why he's sparing them, but on a later read, will be more obviously asking why he was considering becoming a killer for the greater good.

There's lots of ways it can be done.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2018-11-06T13:24:12Z (over 5 years ago)
Original score: 6