Mind Reader
What does the word “interior” mean when discussing interior monologue?
Inside.
What punctuation marks are used to show a character's spoken words?
Quotation marks.
What is interior monologue?
The expression of a character's thoughts, feelings, and impressions in a narrative.
What should a writer do every time a new character begins speaking?
Start a new paragraph/new line.
Name one thought tag a writer can use to make it clear that the reader is hearing a character's inner words.
I thought, I wondered, or I asked myself.
Where should commas and periods be placed when they end a line of dialogue: inside or outside the quotation marks?
Inside the quotation marks
Why might a writer use interior monologue instead of simply telling the reader, “The character was nervous”?
Interior monologue allows the reader to experience the character's actual thoughts and feelings, making the character's emotions and perspective more vivid.
A character speaks and then performs an action. Under what condition can the action and dialogue remain in the same paragraph?
When the action belongs to the same character who is speaking.
What is the purpose of using a thought tag with interior monologue?
It clarifies that the words are the character's inner thoughts and helps create a clear boundary between narration and interior thought.
Complete this rule of thumb from our dialogue lesson:
“Each paragraph belongs to ________.”
One character, including both their words and their actions.