About Show And Tell

Post 154:

            Show, don’t tell. It was the first criticism I got from a professional writer when I started. This is probably the biggest mistake made by novices and therefore the most common criticism teachers and editors have to lodge.

            It’s fairly basic. You don’t want to explain who a character is or go into some lengthy exposition about the storyline. Make the characters do something, something that involves the story. This lets the readers figure out the character for themselves, and it keeps you (the writer) out of the way.

            They say when you get good enough, you can do some telling, but you have to do it tactfully—alas, you’re good enough, so you can be judicious with your telling. Frankly, this is all subjective. I say, whatever works. By “works,” I mean, whatever keeps the person interested.

            I think show don’t tell is probably an even keener rule for living. If you want someone to find you interesting, be interesting. You can tell them you’re interesting all day long, but yeah—that’s creepy, boring at best.

            Same goes for teaching. Be an example.

            Irony bells might be going off, considering I write a freaking blog. A blog where a lot of telling goes on.

            I’ll admit it. But for a meager defense, I do try to practice what I preach. I write and think. I think about writing. I write about thinking. But just now, that was some telling. If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you. Check out some of my blog. I’ve got evidence.

            Cheers ye magistrates and noblepersons. See you after.