The whole truth and nothing but the truth

When I was a kid the truth was simple - if my mother asked if I had done something the only answers were yes or no. Now as an adult I see things differently. Intent finds its way into the answer. I may have done something with a good intent that unfortunately was perceived in another manner. I have also come to see that what matters is the perception and not the intention. I have had to do a lot of apologizing as an adult because of the gap between intention and perception. A friend once said a good way to evaluate an action or statement is to see it as a headline in a newspaper - if it doesn't look good don't do/say it. I think this is good advice. So my advice for today is to carefully examine your words and deeds and make sure they meet this criteria. However, for writing characters in a novel the lack of an inner monologue might be just the thing - this character would just blurt out what was on his/her mind - some of which would definitely violate the newspaper headline rule. So it's okay for your characters to exhibit poor choices in words and deeds but not for you the author.