path of the storyteller / blog
Stuck in your hero’s head
Five do’s—and five don’ts—of writing the inner life of your characters
One of the unique and fantastic properties of fiction is how it allows us to travel inside our characters’ innermost thoughts, feelings, and sensations.
It’s so Vulcan mind-meld! In real life, we often struggle to understand and be understood by others. In fiction, we can dissolve that boundary between me and you and dive right in there. It’s really a superpower.
But like any superpower, the ability to depict the inside of our character’s heads can be used for good or for ill. Writers soon encounter all kinds of pitfalls in figuring out how to manage this internal landscape of consciousness.
For example: We know we’re supposed to show not tell, but eavesdropping on the voice in someone’s head often feels like nothing but telling.
And we know what goes on inside our ...
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Maryrose Wood
I’m the author of fourteen published novels, including ALICE’S FARM, A RABBIT’S TALE (Macmillan, 2020) and the six-book Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series (Balzer + Bray / HarperCollins). I founded Path of the Storyteller in 2020 to offer serious writing craft training for writers who’re ready to take their work up to pro level. Here’s where I blog about writing craft, publishing, and the writing life in general. Learn more at pathofthestoryteller.com.
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