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Show Don't Tell
"Telling"
in stories gets a bad wrap. Sometimes writers have to tell,
otherwise books would run too long. The key is to know when you
should "tell" and when you should "show." There
isn't a specific rule for you to follow. The more you write, you'll
develop an instinct and after a while, common sense takes over. Show
don't tell is a hurdle all fiction writers have to master.
Writing
Tips on How to Write Show Don't Tell
Write the first
draft without worrying about whether you are showing rather than
telling. Once you have a full story, you can go back and decide
where you can flesh out your work.
A good technique
you can use when writing "show don't tell" scenes, is to
act out the character's actions, and jot down the actions you
performed in specific details. Show the reader through prose exactly
what you act out.
Visualize or
imagine your character's action and write down exactly what you
see for the reader in vivid details. Do not worry about the word
count, just write and during the editing phase you can trim
down the writing.
Stay away from
cliques. For example writing the following about a
protagonist is an outdated phrase that brings your story down:
"His face was red hot." Though there is description in
this example, its one that most people have heard before. You have
to be more imaginative in your writing.
Show Don't
Tell Examples
You will win the
reader over by providing details about the character's emotion and
actions. Describe the actions in an active voice, not in a passive
one. When you are detailed, you provide reader's a reason to keep on
reading.
These examples
below demonstrate how you can write descriptive images that allows
the reader to drawn into your characters.
Telling: He felt
like crying when he heard her voice mail.
Showing: His emotions caught in his throat.
Telling: It's
getting late.
Showing: Your losing daylight.
Telling: I was
thinking.
Showing: Keep my mind jumping
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