WRITING TIPS to Hook your Reader and Keep them Hooked.

Ch 9 - MY #1 SECRET TO WRITING A GREAT NOVEL.

Two years ago I took part in an online seminar with Heather Alexander, who was at the time an editor at Dial and is now a literary agent. Her talk was all about defining what makes up an authors 'voice' in fiction writing. Editors and agents often say they are looking for authors/ stories with a distinctive 'voice', yet as writers it can be hard to understand what they mean. Heather Alexander broke down what makes up an author's voice into several component parts. Out of respect for her and because I don't want to get into trouble, I can't cover what she said here. But I am going to discuss one of the parts she mentioned: 'interior monologue.'

Interior monologue as defined in the Encyclopedia Britannica:

(a) narrative technique that exhibits the thoughts passing through the minds of the protagonists. These ideas may be either loosely related impressions approaching free association or more rationally structured sequences of thought and emotion.

The way you use interior monologue in your fiction writing is extremely important to the success or lack of success of your book. In fact, Heather Alexander said that most fiction books landing in her in-box from agents are lacking in interior monologue and, in her opinion, one of the reasons the Hunger Games was so popular was because of Collins' skillful use of this device. I would go even further and say that mastering this technique of interior monologue is the number one key to writing a great novel. (Of course, you've got to understand plotting and pacing and characterisation, but these aren't enough if you haven't understood interior monologue.)

Interior monologue encompass several forms, including dramatised inner conflicts, self-analysis, imagined dialogue and rationalisation. In most books published today it is most often restricted to an organised presentation of that character's rational thoughts.

I wanted to use a concrete example of what I consider excellent interior monologue from the best-selling apocalyptic fiction 'The 5th Wave' by Rick Yancey. I've broken down the prose into sections to show you firstly how much interior monologue there is (A LOT!) and what KIND of interior monologue it is.

It is not just enough to include interior monologue in your prose. ALL INTERIOR MONOLOGUE IS NOT EQUAL. Just because you've got interior monologue, doesn't mean it's working to enhance your story.

These of the kinds of interior monologue you can use. (I think I've got all of them, but let me know if I've missed something out!)

EXPOSTION -The character gives us important background information, which is woven into the scene and their thought process.

FEELING - POV character expresses their feelings

DIRECT THOUGHT IN THE MOMENT - This is often presented in italics. If your narrative is told in the past tense, this interior monologue is still in present tense.

FILTERED THOUGHT - This includes the character's rationalisation, impressions and half-thoughts. If your narrative is written in the past tense, it can also include thoughts the character has had since the event they're describing happened.

So let's take a look at this small extract from The 5th Wave:

5TH WAVE:

Instead, I listened to the silence of the abandoned store, listened hard. Something was close. I took a tiny step away from the door, and the broken glass crunched ever so softly under my foot.