Monologues

[Anonymous No.8826134]

How do I write a compelling monologue? How about a sequence of monologues within a story?
What are some key elements, tricks for keeping it interesting, etc?

Basically, I'm experimenting with different ways of revealing character/story that don't rely on an authorial presence or setting descriptions. I do explicit scene-telling pretty well, and want to try out something more oblique.

I've read a decent amount of Delillo, who's monologue-heavy. I also hear Beckett is a good resource although I haven't read much of him yet. Any other writers you'd recommend for examples of how it's done well?

[Anonymous No.8826147]

I despise speech-giving characters in fiction. It seems so lazy and sloppy to just have the character open their mouth and say what the author wants to get across.

Not only that, but it seems like a fundamental misunderstanding of the novel, depending on the purpose. You're not writing an essay. You're not out to prove a thesis.

[Anonymous No.8826176]

>>8826147
That's fair. I'm doing this in some short stories for the record. I don't think I'd be able to stomach too many monologues in a full-length novel.

My intention with them is not to explain what I want to get across, but to open up something more oblique and buried-down that would come from a character rambling. I'm looking to expose more uncertainty rather than offer a "To Be or Not To Be"-type-conclusion.

[Anonymous No.8826179]

>>8826176
but I also don't want to just use them to fill up space. Hence the question about finding guides for techniques, or just other prominent examples in fiction.

[Anonymous No.8826426]

>>8826147

I'm really quite baffled by this post.

Speeches are of course obnoxious when it's Ayn Rand writing them. But some of the most universally acclaimed writers do this for long stretches of their works. Houellebecq does it, Huxley does it, Thomas Bernhards rants are fucking magnificent, Mann does it, not to speak of the goddamn patron saint of /lit, Dostoyevsky, who does it all the time.

Isn't it more the case that speeches are just particularly bad when written by a bad writer?

[Anonymous No.8826595]

>>8826426
Well hey, thanks for examples of other authors who do it. It's not exactly a quality you can search for on Amazon. Any specific recommendations?

[Anonymous No.8826608]

>>8826134
Dat pic joke tho

[Anonymous No.8826716]

>>8826426

Houellebecq: Atomized and Submission (primary subjects: women and muslims)
Huxley: Those Barren Leaves and Point, Counterpoint (a lot of different stuff, as I recall, art and authoritarianism plays important roles)
Bernhard: The Loser and Woodcutting (very idiosyncratic, mostly just about how much he hates other people, particularly Austrians)
Mann: Have only read Dr. Faustus, but it was very good, though pretty abstract for long streches. Monologues primarily concerned about morality expressed through the lens of high culture.
Dostoyevsky: So much good stuff, but my suggestion would be Demons/The Possessed and Notes From the Underground (main topic faith vs nihilism/philosophical materialism)