alphabet-blog-qWhat place do questions have in novels? I'm not talking about the questions characters ask each other, but rather, the ones they ask themselves. After all, aren't many of our internal thoughts questions? Will I get home before it rains? Can I afford another book? Will my daughter go to sleep at a reasonable hour tonight?

So shouldn't our characters do the same thing?

When it comes to internal questioning though, there are two ways you can write it. Consider the paragraphs below. (From Reckless Rescue of course!)

Excerpt 1

He wondered if this was the planet he was looking for. His heart rate accelerated. He coudln't think of any other reason for its absence from the star maps. This area had been explored long ago and the surrounding star systems mapped. He wondered why they had missed this one. For the first time since he started this journey, he started to believe he might just do this.

Excerpt 2

Could this be the planet he was looking for? His heart rate accelerated. What other reason could there be for its absence from the star maps? This area had been explored long ago and the surrounding star systems mapped. Why not this one? For the first time since he started this journey, he started to believe he might just do this.

Which one reads like you're actually sitting inside the characters head? Which one is more exciting?

All this month I’m participating in the A-Z blogging challenge, writing a blog post for each letter of the alphabet, on every day of the month except Sundays. Check back regularly to see what else I have in store for you.