Following the Course Structure, introspection or inner dialogue is the next topic to explore. Introspection, simply stated, is what your character thinks about.

Your character can reveal a lot about their personality, intelligence, background, and dreams...by merely thinking about it. Granted, action is far more powerful, but sometimes it is necessary to set the scene by having your character think about the conflict and situation that they must confront.

Character's have feelings and thoughts which can be shown to your reader. This can be a powerful tool to develop your character more thoroughly. People often say one thing, think another, and do something completely different. Your character can too!

How do you write this? (Technically, with thought tags and italicized words.)

Pick your character. Have that character naturally express thoughts that contribute to the story. Simple. 

Give it a try. See how your character's thoughts and feelings contribute to your story and develop your character further.

Want to Learn More?

• Inner Dialogue--Writing Character Thoughts
• 5 Ways to Write Character Thoughts Worth More Than a Penny
• How to Write Your Character’s Thoughts
• How to Enhance Your Character’s POV
• 5 Reasons Internal Dialogue is Essential in Fiction (And How to Use It in Your Story)

A good story is not based on a formula. Yet there a certain things that are common in all stories. Stories are driven by the character or by events that are beyond the character's control.

The arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something complex.

Plot 

A literary term used to describe the events that make up a story or the main part of a story.

Imagine that your hero is walking backward on trail. Your hero is unable to look backward. Your hero is able to see where they have been, and remember the events that led them to this point. Your hero might hear something or feel something that guides them on the steps that they take...

The analogy above hints at how characters know their past and have no idea what the future may entail.

A writer, on the other hand, knows it all.

I have written about backstory and flashbacks. Both are story elements that point the reader to events and characters from the past. (Duh.) If you want to point the reader to the future--you can do a couple of things--outright tell them or be subtle.

These options have been named: Telegraphing (that's the telling) and foreshadowing (that's being subtle).

Foreshadowing is used in a story by 'planting' hints, letting those hints grow, and then 'showing' those hints off (or not). It can be challenging to accomplish this without becoming predictable or succumbing to cliche.

This can be accomplished by:

1. Pre-Scene: A smaller scene before the primary scene (flash-forward).
2. Narrator Statement/Opinion: Not subtle, you tell the reader (telegraphing).
3. Apprehension: The character fears something...and your reader will too.
4. Showing the Reader a 'loaded gun' (Chekov's Gun): you don't show a loaded gun without having a reason.
5. Prophecy (Dreams)
6. Symbolic Omens

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