Narrative DeliveryAdvanced
Free Direct Discourse
A character's thought or speech appears directly without quotation or attribution.
Principle
Free direct gives interiority a bare surface.
Takeaways
- It can drop the reader straight into thought without explanatory scaffolding.
- It is usually sharper in short bursts than in long passages.
- The surrounding point of view must make the speaker unmistakable.
Overview
Free direct discourse presents a character's words or thoughts as direct language without tags, quotation marks, or first-person framing by the narrator. It sits near interior monologue but often appears as a local flash of unmediated thought.
Examples
- I cannot go back. Not after that.
- No. Not this room. Not again.