How to Show and Not Tell in Writing Fiction
Decide on your topic., Jot down some defining characteristics of the topic., Write a first, simple draft to build upon., Read over your draft and find "telling" words like looks, very, seems, old, and forms of "to be"., Rewrite the draft, using your...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Decide on your topic.
This should include a character, an action, and a setting.
Example:
Marie went to the corner store . -
Step 2: Jot down some defining characteristics of the topic.
Example:
Marie is elderly and intelligent, the corner store is old but well-kept and familiar to Marie, she got there by car. , Example:
Marie, an elderly woman, went to her car.
She locked the door behind her.
She drove to the corner store.
When she got there she bought some milk and bread and tea and a newspaper and then she went home. , In the previous example, the reader is told that Marie is elderly and exactly what steps she took to carry out her errand.
Did you find it engaging? , Example:
Marie put on her glasses, picked up her purse from the table by the garage door and shuffled through the door to her 1998 Dodge Neon.
The hum of the garage door mingled with the struggling engine. "Come on, old girl, we ain't dead yet," Marie whispered to the dashboard.
She carefully backed out of the driveway and into the street, automatically pressing the button to tell the garage to close.
Two minutes later, she pulled in at a building whose wooden sign, its fresh paint bright against the weathered walls, proclaimed "Benny's Corner Store".
Marie smoothed her silver ponytail, reapplied her lipstick, and, allowing her joints plenty of time to stretch, maneuvered out one door and in another. , But isn't it more fun to imagine the second version? , Continue to practice this concept with every bit of fiction you write. -
Step 3: Write a first
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Step 4: simple draft to build upon.
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Step 5: Read over your draft and find "telling" words like looks
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Step 6: and forms of "to be".
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Step 7: Rewrite the draft
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Step 8: using your imagination (and probably a thesaurus) to expand the descriptions.
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Step 9: Note that "showing" will usually be much longer than "telling".
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Step 10: Continue to revise until you are completely satisfied with the scene you have shown.
Detailed Guide
This should include a character, an action, and a setting.
Example:
Marie went to the corner store .
Example:
Marie is elderly and intelligent, the corner store is old but well-kept and familiar to Marie, she got there by car. , Example:
Marie, an elderly woman, went to her car.
She locked the door behind her.
She drove to the corner store.
When she got there she bought some milk and bread and tea and a newspaper and then she went home. , In the previous example, the reader is told that Marie is elderly and exactly what steps she took to carry out her errand.
Did you find it engaging? , Example:
Marie put on her glasses, picked up her purse from the table by the garage door and shuffled through the door to her 1998 Dodge Neon.
The hum of the garage door mingled with the struggling engine. "Come on, old girl, we ain't dead yet," Marie whispered to the dashboard.
She carefully backed out of the driveway and into the street, automatically pressing the button to tell the garage to close.
Two minutes later, she pulled in at a building whose wooden sign, its fresh paint bright against the weathered walls, proclaimed "Benny's Corner Store".
Marie smoothed her silver ponytail, reapplied her lipstick, and, allowing her joints plenty of time to stretch, maneuvered out one door and in another. , But isn't it more fun to imagine the second version? , Continue to practice this concept with every bit of fiction you write.
About the Author
Brittany Anderson
Creates helpful guides on crafts to inspire and educate readers.
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