Hi Matt, I just want to mention that interiority doesn’t have to be telling exclusively. In fact, great writers use showing (concrete images) in their thoughts. Ender’s Game is telling the story almost exclusively through Ender’s interiority. Stephen King almost always writes in interiority, almost all showing.
Definitely. Lots of people think of show vs tell as a binary, but for me it's really more of a scale. Internal thought is somewhere in the middle. I'd say the more abstract the thought the more is pushes into showing rather than telling. And at the end of the day, all that really matters is creating the most evocative effect. So, hopefully internal thought (whether it's showing, telling or somewhere in between) is helpful with that. Lots to ponder!
Thank you so much for this insightful article, Matt. As ever, your analytic brain throws light on a complex subject.
Really glad it's useful, Bonnie. Hope it gets you thinking (!) lots of thoughts (!) about character thought!
Hi Matt, I just want to mention that interiority doesn’t have to be telling exclusively. In fact, great writers use showing (concrete images) in their thoughts. Ender’s Game is telling the story almost exclusively through Ender’s interiority. Stephen King almost always writes in interiority, almost all showing.
Definitely. Lots of people think of show vs tell as a binary, but for me it's really more of a scale. Internal thought is somewhere in the middle. I'd say the more abstract the thought the more is pushes into showing rather than telling. And at the end of the day, all that really matters is creating the most evocative effect. So, hopefully internal thought (whether it's showing, telling or somewhere in between) is helpful with that. Lots to ponder!
I really enjoyed reading your story Yellow is the colour of make believe. Thank you so much for sharing.
Jo, thank you so much. I'm really glad you enjoyed it.