A Lingering Thought on Italics

In Today's Journal

* Quote of the Day
* A Lingering Thought on Italics
* Of Interest
* The Numbers

Quote of the Day

"At the moment of truth, there are either reasons or results." Chuck Yeager

A Lingering Thought on Italics

I thought I had nothing for TNDJ today, but I wanted to pass along the stuff in Of Interest. So I looked back over some files on my desktop and found a note I'd written and forgotten about. Here it is:

Recently I posted in TNDJ regarding the use of italics to indicate the POV character's unspoken thoughts in fiction.

You can find that post here. I recommend you read the comments also.

The Short Version

Back in the day when I wrote the first edition of Punctuation for Writers, through it I taught thousands of writers they should use italics to indicate unspoken thought.

Later, I reconsidered and published PFW in a second edition. You can find the new edition here. If punctuation causes you any problems at all, you want this book.

If you want the first edition, you can probably find it on eBay or somewhere.

My overall position is that you should NOT use italics to set off the POV character's unspoken thoughts. And owing to my personality, I'm pretty adamant about it. (grin)

My Reasoning?

Italics is highly noticeable, and the sudden appearance of the italic attribute can momentarily pull the reader from the story.

The italic attribute is much more noticeable on the surface than, say, a switch from past tense to present tense.

• Past tense is the natural voice of narrative. When we convey "what happened" to a third party, we naturally use past tense.

• Present tense is the natural voice of unspoken thought. When we think something without saying it aloud, we do so in present tense.

So that's my reasoning for recommending present tense vs. italic attribute to indicate unspoken thought. The present-tense and the lack of quotation marks will suffice to signal to the reader that the thought is not spoken aloud.

However

I do not presume to make the "rules." Through TNDJ I only present and recommend as best practices what I've learned through several million words of written, published fiction.

But you, not I, are the recorder of your characters' stories. So in every case you do you. Write and present stories in whatever way makes you comfortable.

If you're more comfortable using italics to indicate unspoken thought, do it. Just remember to be consistent throughout the story or novel.

In fact, the "student" who's been with me the longest still sets off unspoken thought with italics.

Obviously, that goes against what I do and what I recommend, but she decided that's how she wants to do it, and that's fine with me. It isn't something we argue about.

I also copyedit work for her, and I leave her character's italicized thoughts alone except where she slips and isn't consistent. At those few places, I usually add the italics myself and continue with the copyedit.

A Quiet Aside on Present Tense

As a quiet aside, present tense is not "more immediate" as some would have you believe. Plus in narrative, present tense sounds like stage direction.

Still, if you want to write narrative in present tense, please go ahead. But I'd bet money you'll catch yourself slipping into past tense from time to time as you write. Because past tense is the natural voice of narrative.

Of Interest

THIS is how you publish books to Amazon (in 2025) Short video. If you've never published to Amazon or it's been awhile, watch this.

Crafting Characters Using the 7 Types of Listening Learn with your conscious mind, apply with your creative subconscious.

Since I Am Now Writing At Pulp Speeds Again If you haven't seen Dean's pulp speed post, do yourself a favor and read it.

The Numbers

The Journal…………………………… 640

Writing of

Day 1…… XXXX words. To date…… XXXXX

Fiction for February………………….. 41822
Fiction for 2025………………………. 163177
Nonfiction for February…………….... 16150
Nonfiction for 2025…………………… 48130
2025 consumable words…………….. 204797

Average Fiction WPD (February)…….. 2091
Average Fiction WPD (Annual)……..… 3199

2025 Novels to Date…………………….. 4
2025 Novellas to Date…………………… 0
2025 Short Stories to Date……………… 8
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………..... 108
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 278
Short story collections……………………. 29

Disclaimer: Whatever you believe, unreasoning fear and the myths that outlining, revising, and rewriting will make your work better are lies. They will always slow your progress as a writer or stop you cold. I will never teach the myths on this blog.

Writing fiction should never be something that stresses you out. It should be fun. On this blog I teach Writing Into the Dark and adherence to Heinlein’s Rules. Because of WITD and because I endeavor to follow those Rules I am a prolific professional fiction writer. You can be too.