Guest author Jerry Jenkins shares his top tips for authors, including ‘engaging the theater of your reader’s mind’ and resisting the urge to explain.
Tag: show don’t tell
Show don’t tell is one of the most abused pieces of writing advice. Although both showing and telling in narration are important, knowing when to use which (and what makes explicit telling less effective in some cases) helps.
‘Show, don’t tell’ is something every aspiring author has heard or read at some point. It’s true that telling the reader about your characters’ acts and emotions or your settings is often weaker than showing them. Read examples from books that put ‘show, don’t tell’ in context and reveal how to blend showing and telling effectively:
Common novel writing tips should never be applied without further thought. Here are 7 common writing tips you’ll hear in creative writing classes and writing groups that you should avoid applying blindly:
“Show, don’t tell” is one of the most common pieces of advice given about writing, but should you follow this advice? In fact, sometimes you should tell (and not show). Here are some of the reasons why: