In a post on Writers in the Storm, Lisa Hall-Wilson examines how we use and overuse rhetorical questions in narrative.
Rhetorical questions are a helpful device for avoiding author intrusion. “Instead of telling the reader how the character feels or inserting information into the story, have the character wonder about the information instead,” Hall-Wilson explains. Of course, it’s easy to go overboard, peppering your narrative with so many rhetorical questions that your novel starts to sound like a soap opera voice over. “The problem is that the author intrusion or narrator voice we’re trying to avoid by using rhetorical questions, ends up being a crutch that prevents us from taking that next step to go deeper with our character,” Hall-Wilson notes.
Does she mean that we can never use rhetorical questions? No. They have their place in dialogue and internal dialogue. In some cases, what your character is thinking or worried about might surprise your reader or add a touch of humor. However, most of the time, you’re merely repeating information the reader already knows. This stops your scene from moving forward, as your character is pondering, not acting.
“While we hope rhetorical questions help us create tension and uncertainty in characters (and therefore readers), over-using them allows the character to waffle,” Hall-Wilson says. “This waffling or hesitation makes the character harder to cheer for, harder to relate to.” The solution is to force your characters to make a choice and live with the consequences. If you find you’ve overused rhetorical questions, look for places to replace the question with a moment where your character realizes the answer.
Hall-Wilson also suggests using rhetorical questions as a flag, showing you where you can go deeper into emotions and motivation. Where you have characters asking questions, particularly multiple questions back to back, spend some time with their emotional state. “In revisions, get curious about how the character would answer those questions,” Hall-Wilson suggests. “Start with the rhetorical question as a launching point for going deeper. What are the implications of one or more possible answers?”
If you’re writing with multiple POVs, check if one character is using rhetorical questions more than others. This could be a sign that this character is underdeveloped compared to the rest of your cast.
