http://www.coffeehouseforwriters.com/fictionfix/0608%20Grossack.html

Yes, I wrote it, but it addresses your issue directly.

Kind regards
Victoria Grossack

Nevertheless, it appeared in print with them.

Be sure that your story can survive the loss of italics if it’s against the house style.

Really? I love this method and use it all the time (with moderation ).

How to make third person more immediate/intimate?

*Describe what the character sees (smells,hears…), not the character seeing. (”The wind beat against her face” vs. “She felt the wind beat against her face.”)

*Keep the writing body-centered.

*Describe only what the character would pay attention to

*Make the sentence structure and word choices match the character’s feelings. (E.g., action sequences would have simple words, short, snappy sentences, sentence fragments and nearly no adjectives and adverbs.)

*Use direct internals and internal monologue

*Describe the character’s attitude/feelings towards what he’s doing, not just the action itself.

Selene

I don’t italicize drawn-out, multi-sentence thoughts. We do often think in words, but I
believe we use a personal, mental shorthand when going through a long thought process or
analysis. Inserting thoughts right into the narrative (I like to call it internal “dialogue” rather
than “monologue” because the character is often arguing with himself) is a nod to that
shorthand, and it’s a way to get even closer to the character by learning more about
their voice and thought processes. Narrative is a great way to let personal bias and flaws
slip in.

When I come to the “revelation” in a thought sequence, I often switch tactics,
from narrative to ital, or even from ital to dialogue, sometimes even mid-sentence, just
like real people do. Switching it up feels real to me.

Of course, I talk to myself all the time, so maybe that’s me.

Good question. Made me “think” about it.