What is the considered the best way (if any) to differentiate, in the written form (obviously!) between actual speech and thoughts - along the lines of 'blah, blah, blah," he thought to himself/wondered etc. I'm wondering particularly about the use (or otherwise) or speech marks versus italics. In my drafts I seem to be using inverted commas for actual speech, and italics (or even italics with speech marks!) for thoughts, but I'm not sure what is actually the correct way. It's starting to irritate me now, as I haven't resolved this issue yet. So far, it hasn't mattered, because no-one has seen anything I've written yet, but I obviously want to get it right at some point! Thanks!
Hi Jackie, I don't think you need to make any changes to the way you show 'thoughts', they are just part of the main body of the text. No italics needed.
For Instance,
'Come here, Mary, I need to speak to you.' Just wait until I give her a piece of my mind, she won't know what's hit her. Maybe I'll tell her what I found out, maybe I won't. 'So, how are you settling in, Mary?' Her face tells me everything I need to know.
It's the same in the past tense:
Just as I was thinking about what to say to Mary, she appeared in the doorway. 'So, how are you settling in, Mary?' Her face told me everything I needed to know, but should I tell her about what I found out, or wait?
Same in third person:
Susan could hardly bear to wait until Mary arrived. She agonised over whether to say anything. What if she was wrong? How would Mary react? What if she decided to leave? 'Come and sit down, Mary, I need to speak to you.' Mary's pale face told her everything she needed to know.
Hope this helps!!! Best wises, Dawn
Oh, and please excuse one or two little errors in that - I DID write it at about 2 in the morning and I think my glasses were in desperate need of a good wipe...Mea culpa.