Show, Don't Tell: How to write vivid descriptions, handle backstory, and describe your characters’ emotions (Writers’ Guide Series)
Sandra Gerthamazon.com
Show, Don't Tell: How to write vivid descriptions, handle backstory, and describe your characters’ emotions (Writers’ Guide Series)
The Gatsby scene quoted above (Fitzgerald’s version) shows us how people react to Gatsby, and shows us effectively. But the writer also tells us that the three Mr. Mumbles leaned forward “eagerly,” that one girl spoke with enthusiasm, that a man nodded “in affirmation.” Granted, stylistic conventions have changed since 1925, but even so, the tellin
... See moreRenni Browne • Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print
Experience. Don’t observe.
Inhale. Don’t read.
Transfigure. Don’t shift.
Advocate. Don’t ponder.
Prove. Don’t promise.
Encourage. Don’t cut.
Imagine. Don’t worry.
Do. Don’t analyze.
Hear. Don’t listen.
Show. Don’t tell.
Give. Don’t take.
Brian Collins • 101 Design Rules
I suppose the clearest difference between telling and showing in fiction is, generally, the difference between a purely informational statement and one that attempts to add a human aspect to its repertoire and, in doing so, includes the reader either emotionally or physically.