Would it bother you if a protagonist in a fantasy often thought deeply?

[Chessie]

I think one should generally confine long introspection to sequels, not scenes. The sequel needs a slower pace, and that's what long introspection will give you. Also, introspection is generally in response to stuff happening, but not while it is happening.

As a quick example, if someone is being attacked by ninjas, he'd be fighting them off etc., and only after defeating them will he turn to thoughts about why they had attacked him (maybe while being patched up).

I disagree with the whole idea of should. Scene/sequel doesn't work for all writers...it certainly doesn't work for me. I've tried numerous times to incorporate that into my scenes with the whole conflict/goal/disaster thrown in. To me, it's excessive and confining. Tension worked into the scene level comess from a character's struggle in working towards their story goal, which comes from the plot.

Stating that deep thought should be saved for sequels is like saying all brownies should be void of nuts. Sometimes introspection needs to be in there. Sometimes characters need a moment to think about what to do, to react to events, to observe events, etc. Every scene requires a different approach. Some are heavier in emotion (like romantic scenes) while others are faster paced (like battle scenes). What the OP is describing here is potentially a scene leading into dialogue...so introspection would match well here. Also...what if he's narrating in omniscient? Then there will be more places of deeper thought where the narrator comes in to share information.

I also agree with Devor in that the higher skill you have as a writer, the better you can pull these types of narrative off and they're lovely when done right.

Everyone does it differently, no doubt. But far as the OP's question (and I'm late to the discussion), I love that example. I rather read that than meaningless passages of description where the author gives me paragraphs upon paragraphs of description about a ****ing moon (like in a book I'm reading). Deep thoughts are a great way of understanding character and I feel like nowadays, many authors rush through their narrative for the sake of action. Let's marinate a bit in that character's head, huh? Delicious.

 

[Helen]

Would it bother you if the thoughts of a main character or one of the protagonists in a fantasy were often shown thinking deeply?

Main characters should think deeply. The more deeply they think about it, the more important the change is. The story will involve arguments, points of view and choices...and in the great stories, none of them are lite.

 

[La Volpe]

I disagree with the whole idea of should. Scene/sequel doesn't work for all writers...it certainly doesn't work for me. I've tried numerous times to incorporate that into my scenes with the whole conflict/goal/disaster thrown in. To me, it's excessive and confining. Tension worked into the scene level comess from a character's struggle in working towards their story goal, which comes from the plot.

Stating that deep thought should be saved for sequels is like saying all brownies should be void of nuts. Sometimes introspection needs to be in there. Sometimes characters need a moment to think about what to do, to react to events, to observe events, etc. Every scene requires a different approach. Some are heavier in emotion (like romantic scenes) while others are faster paced (like battle scenes). What the OP is describing here is potentially a scene leading into dialogue...so introspection would match well here. Also...what if he's narrating in omniscient? Then there will be more places of deeper thought where the narrator comes in to share information.

I also agree with Devor in that the higher skill you have as a writer, the better you can pull these types of narrative off and they're lovely when done right.

Everyone does it differently, no doubt. But far as the OP's question (and I'm late to the discussion), I love that example. I rather read that than meaningless passages of description where the author gives me paragraphs upon paragraphs of description about a ****ing moon (like in a book I'm reading). Deep thoughts are a great way of understanding character and I feel like nowadays, many authors rush through their narrative for the sake of action. Let's marinate a bit in that character's head, huh? Delicious.

To put my argument in a more general context (i.e. not in scene/sequel context): Every story (I'd imagine) has parts where the pace is faster and parts where the pace is slower. Even if you're not using the scene/sequel thing, you can still regulate this via the pacing.

Long introspection slows the pace down. So put it in a place where you want a slower pace.

I.e. if you put long pieces of introspection (note that short thoughts wouldn't have the same issue), it'll slow the pace down. And generally a person in a high pacing (i.e. stressful/exciting/scary/etc.) situation wouldn't be thinking about things unless it's directly relevant to the present moment.

As a side note, I'd say that long pieces of description should be in the same spot as long introspection; i.e. the sequel (or the slower paced part). Because it does the same: it slows the pace down.

 

[bdcharles]

I don't mind deep thoughts in fantasy but I think writers need to watch for overdoing it, otherwise readers may feel relentlessly pinned to someone's head and trapped with their mundanest of thoughts. When close up in this POV be aware that any fast narrative may be bogged right down, or that readers might just want to come up for occasinal air.

In a fit of shameless self-prmotion I am going to post an example from my WIP where I had this same dilemma, to illustrate what I did about it. The perspective is my MC, Echo:

~ * ~​

“Here.” Erbillier offered her a slice of curshage. Sweet juice ran down her chin as she chomped into the purple flesh, blessed relief after weeks of dining on rat meat. She was still very weak, and her hacking cough constantly threatened to give them away. Hammerstyle's men would show them no mercy if they should discover them on the open road. Did he know by now that she had escaped? Probably. Would he pursue? Without a doubt, and with a most murderous vigour. And what of the man who had freed her? Death, most likely, if they caught him.

She resolved to put Ixawod out of her mind. As her escorts filled her in on the events following her incarceration, Echo slid from her horse. Her bruised body had tired of sitting, but in spite of her pains the prospect of seeing Faraday and Gaunt again and the thought that her ideas had been already put into practise by Hek's followers caused her a ripple of excitement, and she lifted her face toward the cool moon and fall of stars that gave a shimmer to their rudimentary pathway as it snuck through the trees towards Tokyngton.

~ * ~​

So I first bookended it with an interaction betwee my MC and her escort. He offers her some purple fruit. We then have a little memory of her last few weeks (dining on rat meat - she was in a prison) and her current condition and her worries. Then we are into her thoughts proper. What if this? What if that? Then I bring readers up for air, back into the here and now, as Echo slides from her horse. Then back into her thoughts for 2 sentences, topped off by a little uplifting scenic description. It's all about the mix, and running internal dialogue, external descriptions that are relevant to mood, plus a little light logistics all along together as a team, conveying three things simultaneously rather than letting one dominate.

 

[X Equestris]

It doesn't bother me if it's something worth thinking deeply about. If it's about a trivial matter, it can become irritating.