| Lesson Five INTROSPECTION PERSON Introspection consists of the thoughts going through your point-of-view character’s mind. She may say, “Yes, I think baseball’s fascinating,” when she’s thinking, Oh god, not another sport’s nut! Introspection need not be set off by quotation marks or italics. It must match the grammatical Person you’ve chosen for narration. In other words, if you’ve chosen to narrate your character’s story in Third Person, then that character’s introspection will be in Third Person, as well. If you’ve chosen to narrate your character’s story in First Person, then that character’s introspection will be in First Person. Here’s an example in Third Person: He threw back the covers and sat up. How could he have forgotten to set the clock again? Here’s an example in First Person: I threw back the covers and sat up. How could I have forgotten to set the clock again? EXERCISE: Harry (or Harriet!) is driving to work in heavy traffic. Here’s what’s on his mind: his teenage son wants a car; his mother’s becoming more and more forgetful; he just got a big pay raise; his wife’s going to Bermuda with her friends; and the person in the car beside him looks like George W. Bush. Write his introspections, keeping the Person consistent.
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