Ever skimmed a paragraph of internal monologue? So have I. Sometimes when we're writing our character's thoughts and feelings, we use 100 words to say something that could have easily been said with ten. Or we restate. Or we say the same things again, just using different words (did I already say that?)
So how do we avoid these flaws and keep our internal dialogue (also called exposition) interesting and full of micro-tension? Here are some of his tips- again in bullet points:
- Find a passage of exposition in your manuscript.
- Identify the primary emotion in the passage, then write down its opposite.
- Look for what the character is thinking, summarize the main idea in her mind, and then find a conflicting idea.
- If the passage involved mulling over something that happened earlier, find something about the prior occurrence that your character failed to notice or realize, raise an unasked question, or answer what new reasons your character has to feel uneasy, anxious, or in danger.
- Without looking at your original draft, rewrite the exposition using conflicting emotions or warring ideas. Make the contrast strong and add fresh questions and worries.
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