A while back, someone, I forget who, (Pam maybe?) recommended a book called Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. I bought it, read a couple of chapters, and set it down due to other demands on my time. This past week I finally had time to read it some more. I couldn't get over some of the things the authors suggest. I noticed that I've now become very conscious of things that are considered "amateurish" as I write.
On the subject of introspection (Interior monologue is the term they use) : "...interior monologue is so powerful and easy to write (though not easy to write well) that many fiction writers tend to overuse it." (p.76) And: "Interior monologue is best served up a little at a time, especially in a dialogue scene, as a support for dialogue rather than as a substitute for it." (p.78) And last, but not least, "When self-editing, be on the lookout for long passages of interior monologue. As we've suggested, they usually mean you are telling the reader things you should be showing. ... In general, consider the possibility that any passage of interior monologue more than a page long may need cutting, breaking up, or conversion to a scene." (p. 84)
I'll share more later if people are interested.
Schoolmarm
