MS formatting question....? (do character thoughts need tags, or are italics enough?)

Captain Jack · Jun 2, 2009

I'm in the revision stage of a novel and am questioning some of the MS formatting. I have many instances where the characters "think" .... basically "wondering" to themselves .... In writing I put those thoughts in italics ..... I prefer that instead of spelling out the repetitive; "he thought" or "she wondered" ..... well, I read that putting italics in MS's is taboo, confusing to the various programs agents use .... so how do I depict their thoughts short of italics or description? ...... I searched a bit for the answer to my question and found nothing, please forgive me if this has been discussed and I failed to find it ..... I appreciate if you direct me to any topic if it exists ......

Have a Great Day!!

dawinsor · Jun 2, 2009

You may have read that you should underline to indicate italics, rather than formatting them in Word. Perhaps that's what you're thinking of.

dpaterso · Jun 3, 2009

I did a Google search on site:absolutewrite.com thinking italics and got 2,700 results.

Character thoughts (italics? quotes? underlines?)
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125379

Italicize internal thoughts or not?
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123676

Few dialogue questions
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3627690

What's the best way to convey a character's thoughts in third person limited?
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3449669

-Derek

Captain Jack · Jun 3, 2009

Cool!! .... thanks for the help!!

Wayne K · Jun 3, 2009

Oh good, more reading. Thanks Derek.

jennifer75 · Jun 8, 2009

Great thread, I've been pondering this all weekend as I wrote.

Question, if one uses italics to show characters thoughts, how does one show emphasis on a word in dialogue? Italics, also?

dpaterso · Jun 8, 2009

jennifer75 said:
Question, if one uses italics to show characters thoughts, how does one show emphasis on a word in dialogue? Italics, also?

That's how I'd do it. Italics pull double duty.

And if you're emphasizing a word inside italicized thought, you'd un-italicize it, e.g. But that couldn't possibly work, could it?

-Derek

jennifer75 · Jun 8, 2009

Bold italics??? lol. That thought came up, but I'm just gonna let it pass.

RJK · Jun 8, 2009

Internal monologue is all 'thought'. Taking that a step further, your manuscript would be page after page of underlined text.
You should use 'he/she thought' very sparingly, and there is no reason to set the thought off in any manner. If the publisher insists on italics, then make the change, otherwise, leave the text alone.

MS formatting question....? (do character thoughts need tags, or are italics enough?)

Captain Jack

Starving Artist and Author

dawinsor

Dorothy A. Winsor

dpaterso

Patent pending

Captain Jack

Starving Artist and Author

Wayne K

jennifer75

SupahStah!

dpaterso

Patent pending

jennifer75

SupahStah!

RJK

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