"A picture is worth 1000 words"Would you rather write a 1,000 word story, or find the perfect picture instead?
Probably the picture, right? One of the effective methods of writing stories is called this: Show, Don't Tell ...So what is it? |
Target: Our goal for today is to understand what it means to show the reader what is happening, instead of telling the reader what is happening.
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Show Don't Tell
TellingThe man was a hero for he saved the life of a family when he was a firefighter.
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ShowingThe man rushed into the burning building, it was hard to see, but he pushed forward. He heard people crying for help and had to find them. When he saw them huddled together, he took them through the safe path out of the building. They cheered as he came out of the building.
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"Telling" a story is when you explain the situation. That's it. You have explained something.
"Showing" a story is when you go through a scene piece by piece.
If you "tell" me he's a hero, then "show" me why he is a hero.
It is easy to use "tell" in a story because we don't need to back it up. But, if we use "show" our writing becomes stronger, more effective, and impactful.
"Showing" a story is when you go through a scene piece by piece.
If you "tell" me he's a hero, then "show" me why he is a hero.
It is easy to use "tell" in a story because we don't need to back it up. But, if we use "show" our writing becomes stronger, more effective, and impactful.
TellingMichael was terribly afraid of the dark.
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ShowingAs his mother switched off the light and left the room, Michael tensed. He huddled under the covers, gripped the sheets, and held his breath as the wind brushed past the curtain.
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Don't tell the reader your character is brave, but rather show your character being brave
Piece by Piece
To begin working on "show, don't tell" try and see where information is simply being "told" to the reader.
"Mark was clumsy on his horse"
In that line I have just told the reader information. While Mark may be clumsy, I want to see how he is being clumsy. What makes Mark clumsy?
"Mark swung his leg over the saddle, but missed his foothold and fell straight into the mud below. 'Not again...' he mumbled under his breath"
In this line, Mark is shown being clumsy, we see how he is clumsy. In addition because he mumbles "Not again" we get the idea this has happened before, and Mark probably has trouble getting his bearings with horses.
"Mark was clumsy on his horse"
In that line I have just told the reader information. While Mark may be clumsy, I want to see how he is being clumsy. What makes Mark clumsy?
"Mark swung his leg over the saddle, but missed his foothold and fell straight into the mud below. 'Not again...' he mumbled under his breath"
In this line, Mark is shown being clumsy, we see how he is clumsy. In addition because he mumbles "Not again" we get the idea this has happened before, and Mark probably has trouble getting his bearings with horses.
Practice |
Tips |
Below are sentence stories. Each of them is a "Tell" story. Turn them into "Show" stories. Often "shows" are more than 1 sentence.
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