Internal dialogue is vital

 

A  famous New Zealand wineryLife is a learning process.

Things have changed in the popular fiction world over the last decade.

Ever noticed how much internal dialogue is now used? 

The simple reason is because it replicates real life.

We never stop thinking. It is hard to hold onto an empty mind in order to meditate or sleep because thoughts drift in without our permission and keep us awake - things happening around us, a problem we need to solve, what are we doing for dinner - all sorts of things. Characters begin to feel real to readers when the same thing happens to them.

The point-of-view character has to react to important events in the story and their thoughts draw readers with them. Sharing their private feelings means the reader understands them better and why they do the things. they do

The POV character would hardly be human if they did not like/dislike/hate the people they encounter in the story. Internal dialogue reveals their private thoughts and also their own personality - which may be quite different to the persona they present to the world.

The same technique can create anticipation and give the readers a space in amongst action sequences. In other words, the POV character reviewing an action or pre-viewing the next step helps pacing, and  at the same time minimizes confusion by revealing motivations.

The reader needs to know why the POV character acts as they do, their plan and why they’re pursuing it. Internal dialogue answers this perfectly.

Dodgy characters who deceive everyone around them may well act one way and think another. These characters are not usually the POV character, but the POV character can contemplate what they do and what they say and note contradictions. Sometimes backstory that influences the actions of our characters is told via internal dialogue.

I'm beginning to wonder how much I use internal dialogue in my own stories!