: Re: Is it okay to say what the character infers about other characters thoughts as fact in third person limited? The story is third person limited to Bob's point of view. He is with Alice, and

@Nickens642

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Welcome!

+1 to both existing answers.

The advantage of adding the word 'apparently' is that it further anchors us into Bob's mind without the need to add italicized thought (which can become distracting in its own right.)

But--there are many tricks to get around the point-of-view break. You've mentioned one.

Alice sat up proudly, then shrunk back down, apparently realizing where she was.

Some additional possibilities:

Alice sat up proudly, then shrunk back down, perhaps realizing where she was.
Alice sat up proudly, then shrunk back down, saying, "I just realized where I am."
Alice sat up proudly, then shrunk back down. Bob thought to himself, She must recognize this place.
Alice sat up proudly, then shrunk back down. It seemed that she recognized the room.
Alice sat up proudly, then shrunk back down, wide-eyed.

(And as an aside, you can strike 'up' and 'down' if it is a space concern.)

Alice sat proudly, then shrunk back, as though realizing where she was.

The more varied you get in your writing, the less of a distraction it will be. I do personally find small POV breaks distracting and rarely see them in current books. I see them more often in older books, and maybe the conventions were different.

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