I'm writing a story and have a quick question.

Please have a look at this sentence.

"Why doesn't she like me?" Jason asked.

In the next sentence, Jason doesn't ask, only thinks the question.

Why doesn't she like me, Jason wondered.

Should that sentence have a question mark after "me" like in the first example?

Also, just to make sure, in the first example, that is a single sentence right? So, if I used "he" in place of "Jason," "he would not be capitalized.

"Why doesn't she like me?" he asked.

I've googled these questions and flipped through several novels, but haven't found examples to match these.

Your help is appreciated.

I just want to verify, are question marks used when writing an inner monologue sentence that is not in quotation marks and is tagged, like the following:

Why doesn't she like me, Jason wondered.

I know the sentence could be rewritten, but that is an avoidance of the issue. I just want to know the rules.

Why doesn't she like me? Jason found himself wondering for the forteenth time today. (or some other "beat" where Jason DOES something with the wondering/question/musings.)

Or

Why doesn't she like me, he wondered. I'm a nice enough guy. I keep my toenails trimmed. (If you're doing interior dialogue, you can use the first person form so long as you're clear about when/where the first person disappears. It's like dialogue without the double quotes, so the "he wondered" above is the tag, done in third person past. The rest is as if Jason's talking to himself, where he would use the "I" and "Me" pronouns to refer to himself.

italics indicates thought and thereby eliminates the need for the atribution.

I am not a grammar expert, but I think it is the quotation marks that alter the punctuation when he speaks it.

"Why doesn't she like me?" he asked. Yes it is one sentence that I am sure of.

But I also think the best way to deal with internal thoughts is to use italics. Unless you are writing omniscient POV, it should be clear who is doing the thinking.

quote:

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In a few instances where there are several characters present, I've found that tagging the inner monologue is helpful. Every so often, the monologue is a question. I know when a character is speaking a question, a question mark appears inside the quotation marks and can be followed by a tag.
I just want to verify, are question marks used when writing an inner monologue sentence that is not in quotation marks and is tagged, like the following:

Why doesn't she like me, Jason wondered.

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I think there is a consensus here. The question mark isn't necessary in inner monologue followed by a tag. It looked odd to me with the question mark.

The simple statement: "She likes me," he said. (Lower case "h")

In question form: "Why doesn't she like me?" He asked. (Upper case "H").

The example you gave seems like a single sentence, so why the uppercase "H" in He?

-Joe

PS. I have Self Editing for Fiction Writers reserved at my local library.

I would think because a question mark usually is the end of a sentence? Anyway, that's the way I would interpret it, but I don't know for sure. My other example ends with a comma, which would imply the sentence isn't finished and hence the lower case "h".

I agree with Pyre Dynasty that

quote:

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Why doesn't she like me? Jason wondered.

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I've seen exclamation points mid-sentence, as well. I like this option, especially when you need to use a lot of internal monologue. Italics can get really messy if you've got short sentences strewn all over the place. Also, I sometimes feel that italics put too much indirect emphasis on the thought, but that might just be me getting nit-picky.

Oh yes-- and I seem to remember OSC saying that italics for internal thought is really only used in the romance genre, nowadays.

*I forgot to add that I agree that the mid-sentence question mark isn't necessary. But it is an option if you have a need for it.*

Why doesn't she like me, Jason wondered. This works for me. I agree that adding a question mark would look odd and possibly cause a moment of confusion.

As for italics, there's no Right and Wrong. Instead, there's Clarity, Confusion, and Annoyance. Italics may clarify that a sentence is a character's thought rather than narration. On the other hand, some readers can't discern the difference between italics and regular text. Another point to consider is that you might annoy a reader if too many words are italicized, because italics are harder to read.

Then there's how close you want a reader to the character's thoughts. To me, italics add a slight distance. The following sentences progressively bring me deeper into Jason's mind (that is, the top sentence is the most distant).

• Why doesn't she like me, he wondered.
• Why doesn't she like me, he wondered.
• Why doesn't she like me?
• Why doesn't she like me?

Sometimes, more distance is preferable. Sometimes not. How to tell? Go with your instinct.