Bob and Weave: How to Mix Character Actions and Internal Thoughts

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

It's been one of those weeks, so here's a heavily updated oldie but goody from the archives on weaving internal thoughts into character action. Enjoy!

Although some scenes (and some writers) find the perfect balance between action and internal thought with ease, other scenes take work to get that balance right. Tip the balance too far in either direction, and the writing can come across as too slow (too much in a character's head) or too flat (all description, no character).

There's no rule or ratio for this, and a writer's voice grows from how (s)he strings words together. A combination that works in one where what the character does flows smoothly with what the character thinks, and thoughts and actions work in tandem to tell the story. A more thoughtful novel will likely tip to the internal thought side, while a thriller might lean toward the action.

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com