The Power of the Monologue

The Uninterrupted Voice From the Monroe Archive

In modern fiction, we are often told to keep dialogue snappy and brief. We fear the “wall of text.” But there is a profound power in the monologue—the moment where the world falls away and a character is allowed to speak until they reach the truth.

A monologue isn’t just a speech; it’s an excavation. When we allow a character to speak without interruption, they move past their social defenses and eventually reveal the thing they didn’t know they were going to say. Today, I let a character talk for two pages on a legal pad. I’ll cut most of it, but the one sentence that matters is finally visible.

The Monroe Minute
Write a one-page letter from your protagonist to their younger self. Don’t edit. Just let them speak.

Until the next page,
Sloane S. Monroe

Sloane Shay Monroe

I don’t write to idealize love, but to explore it honestly, with emotional precision and depth.