: Re: Should I avoid "lecturing" my readers? I just noticed I have the tendency of "lecturing" my readers now and then. Examples: I almost let everything out. But, funny, I didn't do it. I didn't

@Rambettina586

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I also questioned the validity of the internal "lecturing" monologue, but much to my surprise, people often said this was their favourite part of the story. When I added other monologues to my other stories, they once again became the highlight of the story for a few people.

John Green does this a lot too. In an Abundance of Katherines, the vast majority of memorable moments come from the main character's "lecturing" inner monologues.

Consequently, based off of my expansive experience of my own two data points and my adoration for John Green, I give you the following guidelines, that are mostly truisms that I've tried to repackage here, for your benefit as well as my own.

Firstly, you cannot build momentum with "lecturing" monologues. Monologues are for when you already have momentum and you want to drive home a point into the reader's mind.

Secondly, it is a good idea to keep them short, as you have. The maximum being a couple of paragraphs is what I've noticed.

In terms of your text specifically, I found the point in your second paragraph to be a bit cliché and might actually be better as dialogue as you mention, unless the character is supposed to seem shy and isolated as you mention. I see it playing out more along the lines of:

“It isn't that long. You'll see. It'll be over before you know it!”
"Hey, would mind sticking your finger into a power outlet for a couple
of second. It isn't that long. It will be over before you know it!"

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