I've been thinking a lot about internalization when it comes to writing. What factors build an interesting scene and which pull us from the narrative.
Of course, I have to add the caveat that the balance of these things are going to depend on circumstance. Certain novels will require more of one than others. POV has a big role in deciding what works best here - we have to know how close the narrator is to the story to know if we understand their in-depth thoughts and feelings. But it's also important to know the rules so that we can bend them to our will, so that we can utilize them most effectively to tell our stories.
So let's get some definitions down first.
Scene: A sequence of events that pull the reader along in a story.
The scent of bacon wafted through the air as Mary threw herself down the banister. But when her socks hit the hardwood floors, she slipped, sending her careening into the front door.
"Mary! What have I told you about sliding on the banister?"
Mary's elbow throbbed, and she sucked in a breath, making for the kitchen. "Sorry, Ma. It's just so much faster than the stairs."
Her mother gave a disapproving look before handing Mary a plate of bacon and eggs.
Summary: A brief description of something that has happened without the depth of experiencing it as the reader.
The bruise on Mary's elbow hadn't gone away since she whacked it off the door the other day.
Internalization: The thoughts, feelings, and motivations of characters played out on the page.
Mary fumed at her own foolishness. Of course she would start the day with an injury; that was so like her to ignore warnings and do it anyways. Why couldn't she just listen to what her mother told her?
These three things need to be balanced in the right way in order for story to come across the way we want it.
Often, Scene could be described as akin to "showing", where Summary is akin to "telling". The general rule of thumb is "show don't tell", but that comes with nuance as a book with only Scene or only Summary wouldn't be a very interesting book.
Too much Scene and it can slow pace, bog down the story. Too much Summary, and we disconnect from the characters' experiences.
Though, Summary can be used in conjunction with Internalization in order to show us how the character feels about the summary event.
It's still important to remember, though, that too much Internalization can also bog down a story. It can take a simple feeling from relatable to comedic, ironic, or even flat out boring.
You may see Summary used in fantasy to describe frequent travel across long distances. It can also be useful for brief exposition, world-building, backstory, and more. Summary is the way to get information across quickly and succinctly without having to linger on the "why".
Scene, however, will be most of your book. Chapters are built of a plethora of scenes. Each one combining and building toward the end of the story. Scenes are comprised of action, dialogue, internalization, and description, among other things. All those pieces tie together to get us from one point to the next.
Where Internalization comes into play is character. Without Internalization, it's very difficult for a reader to understand a character's motivation or how they feel about various happenings in the story. Take the example of Mary above. She's frustrated with herself and her inability to simple take advice. But what if it sounded more like:
Mary shook her head as she stepped into the kitchen, clutching her aching elbow. A laugh bubbled from within at her clumsiness.
That simple difference has vastly changed the way the reader interprets how Mary feels about her morning accident.
While it can be easy to believe that Internalization is simply character thought, there's so much more to it than that. Not every piece of interiority is going to end with, "he thought" or "they considered". While we can use legitimate thoughts as interiority, every reaction a character has is an example of their motivation. Each of those pieces adds up over the course of those scenes so that, by the end, we can understand why a character is making the choices they are.
Internalization is the reason we buy-in to characters who make vastly different choices or live vastly different lives than we do.
If you've finished your manuscript, but you're getting beta feedback about a character acting out-of-character or the reader didn't understand the motivation or the reader didn't believe a character's choices, those are all points that can lead to an issue with interiority. It may be worth reading back through to see where certain thoughts and emotions can be built out. What points need to be made clearer so those actions flow with a character's inner being?
And sometimes, we realize the character was acting outside their core values. Then we know that our Internalization was good, because our readers were able to pick up on the nuance of the arc we were trying to portray. Then, we just need to revise to adjust how that misalignment is coming through or remove it completely.
While it can be difficult to know if we've gotten the balance correct, rest assured that books are not written in single drafts. And the more we become aware of the puzzle pieces that create stories, the easier it will be to spot when something isn't quite right.
Happy writing!
Erin
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