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Q&A Could I have some characters reveal more internal monologue than others?

This is true of children and cats: They're all my favorites because I love them equally. But this one is my special favorite. It's also true of characters. In a real life situation where you're ...

posted 6y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-20T00:40:36Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/41650
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T10:42:46Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/41650
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T10:42:46Z (about 5 years ago)
This is true of children and cats: They're all my favorites because I love them equally. But this one is my special favorite.

It's also true of characters.

In a real life situation where you're supposed to love everyone equally, you wouldn't treat them all the same, would you? Extra lap time is a treat for one kitty but annoying for another. Ditto for a human child getting to go shopping with mom.

Don't show everyone's thoughts. Let the reader work a bit. Show a few here and there, as suits the story. In my novel, I'm mostly in my MC's head but I have a secondary character whose head I explore in a couple chapters. If I spent time in everyone's head (or even the main 6-8 people), I'd drive myself crazy before the reader even got to be driven crazy.

It's not inconsistent to focus more on one character than another. It's expected and normal. Even authors who go inside the heads of multiple characters will pick and choose.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-01-27T00:49:09Z (almost 6 years ago)
Original score: 1