is this correct?

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HH Johnson

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Is this sentence correct:


Mary Jane thought, One two, three, four.


or is this better:

Mary Jane thought: One, two, three, four.


or should I use quotes?
 

Bufty

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I don't care for either, but can't really suggest an alternative because I don't know the context. Depends what you wish to convey.

Mary Jane took a deep breath, held it, and counted. One, two, three, four...

Is this sentence correct:


Mary Jane thought, One two, three, four.


or is this better:

Mary Jane thought: One, two, three, four.


or should I use quotes?
 

Maryn

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I'm with Bufty :hi: in that I'm not enthusiastic about either version.

Assuming you're in Mary Jane's point of view (otherwise, only an omniscient POV could possibly allow the reader to know what she's thinking), you can probably do without any "she thought" tag. Everything is what your POV character thinks, sees, hears, or knows.

You can remove all the words and phrases that "filter" by adding a layer between what's up with Mary Jane and the immediacy which puts the reader right there.

It’s the difference between Mary Jane heard the door creak. She wondered who was there. She noticed the strong smells of lavender and dust. “Grandma?” she said. and The door creaked. Who was there? Lavender and dust filled Mary Jane's nostrils. “Grandma?” Okay, not a timeless classic, but it’s 23 words versus 14, and filtered-through-Mary Jane's-senses distance versus immediacy.

Maryn, hoping this made sense
 

dadburnett

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One, two, three, four ... Mary Jane counted silently ...
 

girlyswot

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Mary Jane thought, 'One, two, three, four...'

Though we've been having some debate about this in the historical thread recently. I would always treat thoughts in the same way as speech, but others prefer to use italics.
 
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