: "The Old Man and the Sea" comes to mind as a novel where I don't recall any dialogue. Santiago talks to himself, talks to his hand, talks to the fish, etc., but that isn't really dialogue.

@Steve161

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"The Old Man and the Sea" comes to mind as a novel where I don't recall any dialogue. Santiago talks to himself, talks to his hand, talks to the fish, etc., but that isn't really dialogue. Or, of you wish, it's internal dialogue.

How does it work? You've got one character, against the elements. Nobody to talk to, so all dialogue is internal.

While "The Old Man and the Sea" has layers of underlying meaning. I recall some short stories by Jack London about a man's struggle with the elements, which were more about the physical struggle for survival. There too, if the MC is alone, all dialogue would be internal.

So, if the MC is alone all through the novel, and all conflict is not with other people, but with nature, all "dialogue" would by necessity be internal. There might be other ways to achieve the goal you seek, but I can't think of any right now.

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