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The importance of your characters' thoughts when writing fiction will be a factor which varies hugely dependant largely upon the genre of the fiction which you are writing. Very direct, action fiction is likely to see the characters' thoughts as being of considerably less importance than in such as a high brow novel focusing intimately on human relationships. It is imperative that the writer make the distinction in this respect and prioritise their characters' thoughts accordingly if they wish to effectively create the desired overall atmosphere.

If we are considering a novel which is classed as a thriller, a horror novel, or an adventure novel, it is likely the characters' thoughts are going to be of minimal importance. They will not necessarily be irrelevant, nor should they be altogether excluded, but the bottom line is that in such novels, it is the action, the events which are taking place, which are more likely to be of paramount importance to the reader rather than what any of the featured characters are thinking. The readers are unlikely to be interested in such as what the assassin thinks regarding the architecture of the city in which he is to make his kill or what the white-water raftsman in deadly peril is considering having for breakfast the next morning, should he survive.

Where the novel is one more focused on such as human relationships, human interaction or the features and facets of human nature, however, the importance of the characters' thoughts is likely to be profound. Readers will wish to know what a character is thinking when they treat a fellow character in a certain a way, or perform an action relevant to the ongoing nature of the plot. Justification is almost the scenario here where the thoughts of the relevant character behind every aspect of the plot are likely to be significant if not in fact vital to the development of same.

We may also in a sense deem the number of characters in a novel to be relevant to the importance of the characters' thoughts. Where a novel contains a great many characters, most of these characters themselves are likely to be all but incidental and it is more likely to be the events themselves which matter. If, however, the novel contains perhaps only one or two characters - marooned on a desert island, for example - the characters' thoughts will necessarily form a large part of the text.

The ultimate determination as to the relevance of the characters' thoughts should be made by the author following the completion of their first draft. Carefully reading back through their own text, they should relate to their characters, consider the circumstances in which they find themselves, and carefully weigh up how relevant what they are thinking is to the specific part of the novel.

Learn more about this author, Gordon Hamilton.
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