![]() ![]() Look at this post on more telling words to avoid. Most of the time they are making you tell. Look out for the words ‘was and were’, ‘have and had’. Avoid these ‘telling’words : Look out for these words: is, are, was, were, have, had.specificity makes your writing stronger, your images clearer and forces your reader to engage mentally and emotionally. Be specific : The more specific you are with your descriptions and actions the easier it will become to show.By using the senses you force your character to interact with their environment and in so doing, it becomes more of a showing scene. Then write about it without using the words see, hear, smell, touch and taste. Use the senses: Write a list of what your character sees, hears, smells, touches and tastes.Often beginner writers use an omniscient narrator without being aware of how much it makes you tell. You can change the viewpoint later if needed. If you struggle to write in third person, you can try writing a scene in first person. Choose a viewpoint character: It is easier if you are experiencing the scene as one character.5 Simple Ways To Help Writers Show And Not Tell I made sure to be specific when I described what was going on in the scene. What can we do to make sure we show and not tell? In the second example, I chose a viewpoint character, added dialogue, and used the senses. “I am going to tell them we have a serial killer on our hands.” He strides towards the vultures and sends Sarah a text to cancel dinner. “What are you going to tell them?” They both look at the clamouring group of journalists. Same weapon, same MO, same everything.” Anderson tugs at his shirt and checks his phone as it rings again. “I’ll need to run some tests at the lab, but it all fits. “Liver temp puts time of death at between 1 a.m. Anderson pushes his sunglasses back up his nose and they slide right back down. Shit, he hates it when missing people turn up dead. ![]() “Female, 24-28 years old, multiple stab wounds.” She moves a matted clump of dirty blonde hair out of the victim’s face. He fishes a ringing phone out of his pocket and glances at the screen. “What have we got?” Detective Anderson steps over a puddle – a mixture of blood and drain water that doesn’t bode well for the evidence. The tiny black bodies frantic, jockeying for position as the coroner waves her hand. The detective walked over to talk to the press. He looked at the body hoping to find clues. The detective’s phone rang he looked at the screen but didn’t answer. The coroner said that she had been dead for at least five hours. He saw that it was a female and that she had been stabbed. In the second example, I show you what is going on. In the first example, I tell you what is happening. It’s something we teach on our Writers Write course, and it’s an ‘aha moment’ that can’t be rushed. ![]() The concept, Show Don’t Tell, is one of the trickiest things for beginners to grasp. But how do we do this? We have put together these tips to help writers show and not tell when they write. Maybe two.When you start writing a book, people will tell writers that they need to show and not tell. A retelling of the Gomer and Hosea story. Redeeming Love is a fabulous book, btw, if you’ve never read it. “You know, Mara, if you were really that set on going back to Pari-a-Dice, you’d have been on your way weeks ago.”Ĭan’t you just feel the heat in the moment? Francine doesn’t even need to use words like ‘angry color’ – we already get the idea from the dialogue. “How am I supposed to go back now with my hands looking like this?” she could just hear the Duchess laughing at her dung-colored hands. His own temper was just beneath the surface, so he held his silence. He saw heat coming into her face she was ready to explode. Then you and I’ll have all winter long to crack ‘em.” “The nuts still have to be peeled and dried before we can sack them again. He added fuel to the fire already blazing. She didn’t look indifferent or aloof anymore. “You didn’t ask.” Her stained hands balled into fists and her face filled with angry color. He smiled slightly and pitched hay into a stall. “You mean they’re going to stay like this?” ”Look at this!” She held her hands for him to see her blackened palms and fingers. Of course, in this example from Francine Rivers, she shows anger with body language too. One of the best ways to ‘show’ anger is through dialogue. Anger being one of the top ones on the list. Well, let’s start with the basic emotions. As writers we’re constantly told to ‘show’ not ‘tell’, but how do we do that? How do we make ink on while paper breath emotion with such clarity the reader can feel it? Experience it? ![]()
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