In a fast-paced world full of instant gratification where “being busy” is the new norm, books should be a dying hobby. Why read the book when someone made it a two-hour movie? The answer is simple: interiority, access to characters’ thoughts and feelings. Books invite readers into someone else’s mind and allows them to see the world as a different person. Interiority lets the reader more fully understand a character’s psyche. No other form of storytelling offers that insight. That is why, if you write a book, you must be a master of interiority.
Interiority Definition
First thing’s first, interiority is biased. Never neutral. It’s information through a character’s worldview. Ask yourself this about your sentences: is what’s being portrayed something that can be captured on camera? If yes, then it is NOT interiority. If anyone can observe the action and report what happened, it isn’t internal thoughts and feelings. When in doubt about if you have included interiority, keep that question in mind.
Now, let’s look at the definition. I was first introduced to the concept of interiority by Savannah Gilbo, and she had a clear, concise definition that I want to use here.
“Interiority is on-the-page access to a protagonist’s thoughts and feelings as they process information.”
Savannah Gilbo
Let’s unpack this definition in three parts: thoughts, feelings, and processing information.
Thoughts
Characters’ thoughts are not just the italicized words you put into the story to portray their inner dialogue. It’s how they interpret the world around them and the things that happen to them. They may describe a dress color as blood, sunburn, or cherry. What word they use gives us insight into their mind. Try to only portray things like the characters would think of them.
Feelings
Similarly, characters’ emotions aren’t just saying they are happy, but providing reasons for those feelings that allow us to connect with the characters. Body language is a big part of describing emotions. The character may bounce on the balls of her feet with excitement or anxiety. However, body language doesn’t give us interiority. We need to know why she feels that way. She may be bouncing in excitement because she’s worked years to perform in this exact theater…or she may be anxious because she was sick all last week and didn’t get to practice much before the big performance. Those little tidbits give us access to an inner reason that we can’t see by just watching her bounce on the balls of her feet.
Processing Information
Processing information starts with the subconscious mind and moves to the conscious mind. Information is any event or action that happens in the story. A character quits her job. A dog runs into the street. The protagonist gets a call. Once something happens, the protagonist will process it.
First, processing starts with the subconscious mind. The makeup of the character will taint how things are seen. This includes biases, fears, wants, ignorance, prejudices, etc. These form a worldview that guides the character’s subconscious responses: memories, urges, focal points, sensations, fleeting thoughts, associations, etc. All subconscious mind responses happen before the character has time to decide how to react.
Next, the mind will move to passive conscious responses. The character will form opinions, make assumptions, have realizations, and make decisions. Based on how they interpret the information around them, characters will then have active conscious responses. They will ask questions, make plans, and anticipate what will happen next. At this point, the character has moved away from the initial information being processed and is ready to start the cycle over again with new information.
Interiority Types
Now that we understand interiority better, let’s go over some of the types of interiority. This is not an exhaustive list, but it’s the main ones I tend to look for in a story. I hope it helps give you a solid way to evaluate your manuscript.
Subconscious Mind Interiority:
- Biases-how the characters see the present based on past experiences
- Fears-how what characters fear restricts their actions
- Desires-how what characters want dictates their actions
- Attention Draws-what characters tend to notice first
- Associations-what parallels the characters draw on for descriptions
- Impressions-how characters experience things around them
- Instincts-urges and involuntary reactions
Conscious Mind Interiority:
- Assumptions-how characters fill gaps in knowledge
- Judgments-how biased opinions lead to conclusions
- Evaluations-how characters interpret facts
- Decisions-what characters choose to do and why
- Calculations-how characters assess information for future plans
- Intents-what characters want from doing something
- Expectations-what characters think will happen but may not happen
Interiority Examples
I always find it more helpful when there are examples on how something works. So, here are three examples of interiority from the book Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.
1. “Even in his new uniform, he still looked like a baby.”
First off, can this sentence be captured by a camera and everyone will interpret it the same? No. Some people may see the uniform and just think it’s well-kept, not new. Some may see his baby-face and think he’s young, but a child will think he’s old. Therefore, this sentence includes interiority.
Now, what type of interiority? Evaluation. He looked at his reflection (in the previous sentence in the book), and his conclusion is he looks like a baby. On top of knowing it’s an evaluation, the reader even knows it’s a negative one by the use of “Even” and “still” in the sentence. Clearly, he was trying to change the fact that he looks young and failed.
2. “Gently, he brushed his finger along his upper lip.”
Can a camera capture this sentence? Yes. Therefore, it does not include interiority. It’s a neutral statement. These are okay to have as well, but make sure the majority carry interiority.
3. “If only his mustache would come in.”
Will a camera capture this sentence? No. There is no external action so a camera could not portray it. Hence, the sentence includes interiority.
This one shows the character’s Desire. He wants to look older so he wishes he could grow a mustache. He sees having the facial hair as a step toward his goal, but it’s not something he can choose to do. Therefore, it’s not a Calculation, Decision, or Intent. Simply a desire.
Final Thoughts
As I stated earlier, interiority is the most important ingredient in quality novels. It’s what makes books stand apart from all other storytelling. By allowing readers into the mind of your characters, they feel a connection to the characters. It’s almost like they are in on a secret by sharing the same mindset of another. Plus, being able to see the world through someone else’s eyes is not something we can do any other way. It’s an amazing experience and even a learning opportunity to expand their own worldviews. Don’t cheat your readers of that experience. Introduce them to new characters, and then let them become those characters for the duration of your story.
Thanks for reading!
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