Definition
Interior monologue is the technique of presenting a character's thoughts directly, as if the reader is eavesdropping on their mind. Unlike stream of consciousness (which mimics the chaotic flow of raw thought), interior monologue tends to be more structured and coherent - it reads like thinking, but thinking that's been shaped for clarity. It can be rendered in italics, in first person within a third-person narrative, or seamlessly woven into the narration through free indirect discourse.
Why It Matters
Interior monologue is one of fiction's greatest superpowers - it lets you do something no other art form can do as naturally: put the reader inside another human being's mind. Film can't do this without voiceover. Theater needs soliloquies. But prose fiction can slip into a character's thoughts mid-sentence and back out again without breaking stride. Learning to use interior monologue well gives you direct access to your character's fears, desires, contradictions, and self-deceptions.
Types of Interior Monologue
Famous Examples
Woolf weaves in and out of multiple characters' interior monologues within single paragraphs, creating a tapestry of private thoughts moving through London.
The entire novel is essentially an extended interior monologue - Holden's voice is so distinctive and unfiltered that readers feel they're living inside his head.
Jude's interior monologue reveals the gap between his composed exterior and his devastating inner world, creating the novel's emotional intensity.
Molly Bloom's final chapter is one of literature's most famous interior monologues - an unpunctuated flow of thought that covers memory, desire, and everything in between.
Common Mistakes
If a character just watched their house burn down, you don't need 'This is terrible, she thought.' The reader already knows. Use interior monologue for thoughts the reader can't infer from the action.
Pages of italicized thought become visually exhausting. Use direct-thought italics sparingly for punch, and use indirect or free indirect style for extended interior passages.
People don't think in perfect sentences. Real thought is fragmented, contradictory, and jumps between topics. Let your interior monologue breathe a little.
Don't write 'She felt angry.' Write what an angry person actually thinks: 'Of course. Of course he forgot. He always forgot. Three years and he still couldn't remember one date.'
Try It Yourself
Write a scene where a character is at a dinner party, making polite conversation. Alternate between their spoken dialogue and their interior monologue. Make the gap between what they say and what they think as wide as possible. Aim for comedy, discomfort, or both. Keep it to one page and try using all three types: direct (italicized), indirect, and free indirect.
Track every voice in your story - even the silent ones
Novelium's character tracking helps you maintain consistent interior voices for each character, so their private thoughts feel as distinctive as their spoken dialogue.