Internal Monologue - past tense or present tense; italics?

Hey, I am writing a story in past tense. But I´m not sure whether I should write a character´s thoughts about the events in past tense also or in present tense. For example:

I was looking at the fire burning down the house. This is a catastrophe. There is no way that the house will ever look the same.

I was looking at the fire burning down the house. This was a catastrophe. There was no way that the house will ever look the same.

And, if I use the present tense, do I have to add a ´, I thought´ or write the thought in italics?

What do you think?

 

On the first part, it depends on whether you're presenting the character's thoughts directly or indirectly.

Indirect—you're telling the reader what the character was thinking, but not from a privileged inside perspective. You tell them what the thoughts are, and it would be in past tense. Like this: It was horrible—I was standing there watching my house burn to the ground and there was nothing I could do about it.

Direct—you go right inside and present the thoughts exactly as the character is thinking them. And you don't think in past tense. You wouldn't think "Oh crap! This was horrible!" It's more like: What the hell? There's nothing I can even do. Call the fire department? Too late. By the time they get here everything will be ashes and glowing coals.

You can use both in the same story, depending on how close in you want the reader to be at the time. It's a way of moving in closer for a more intimate connection at times, and then pulling back a little when you don't want that immediacy.

And on the last part, it's pretty common to either use quotation marks or italics for thoughts in 1st person, otherwise it's not clear what's narration and what's the character's thoughts. Of course in a sense they're the same thing, the character is the narrator, so the narration is his voice. But the narration is more like musing or telling a story, so you probably want to separate them from the actual thoughts he had at the time, unless you want to play around with the form and try to get fancy. And that's not recommended until you get pretty good at more normal form.

 

It depends. Is the character monologuing about events that are, to him, in the past?

Write it from the character's perspective. As for "I thought", that's entirely optional as long as it's clear what the dialogue is:

I took a bite of the meat and nodded in approval. Tastes like chicken.

 

Thank you very much! I searched for a few articles online, but it´s different every time: Some say it´s better to leave out italics.
My story starts in the past tense (as the character is retelling a story) and then changes into the present. In present tense, it is very easy to present the thoughts of the character (as I don´t have to use italics etc., it just flows with the text.), so I do it more often.

If I put every internal monologue when in past tense in italics, would I need to do the same thing later on when writing in present tense?

F.e.
The house was burning down. This is terrible.

I´m standing in front of the house that burned down six years ago. I am glad that they have built a new house.
or I am glad that they have built a new house.

 

Again, the answer is - it depends. Both of those examples work perfectly well, it's really a case of personal style.

However - the second example, without the italics, reads more like a statement of fact by the narrator, rather than a thought. He's *telling* us he's glad, rather than thinking it to himself. That's how I would distinguish it. It depends on how you intend it to come across to the reader.

 

Right, that makes sense, thanks! I wish there were some rules on it though

 

There are no "rules" in writing. Just guidelines. Do whatever works for your story.

No one (except maybe an agent or a critic) reads a story and thinks "Oh, this breaks rule X". It's all about how the story comes across to your reader.

 

The seventy-year-old farmer climbed halfway up the sixty-foot aluminum ladder and leaned back against the cage to catch his breath. 'Phew! Gettin' old,' he thought. 'Still not gonna retire.'

 

I have to say, I often use italics for thoughts even in first person POV - but that's just my particular style.

 

Ok, now I see what you were talking about recently, when you said omniscient isn't in any recognizable POV. You're talking about just the free-floating narration, that isn't in any particular character's head. When I said it's a form of 3rd I meant specifically the parts where it dips inside a character's head. Sorry, don't mean to derail anything, just wanted to say that real quick.

 

It depends on whether the character is talking to himself or talking to the reader as it were. If the character is making an observation for the benefit of the reader, I don't italicise it, whereas if he's actually thinking a thought to himself, I do. Does that make sense?

I have to admit, I'm not always consistent.

 

To answer the OPs question of past tense, the reflective thought would be past perfect if the narration is told in past tense.

 

Your second example in all past tense with no italics or quotation marks is the cleaner option.