One of the first rules a beginning writer comes across is 'Show, don't tell'. It can seem a little confusing at first - after all, are we not storytellers?
I was discussing this concept with the members of my writers group the other night, and it got me thinking about why we should obey this rule. And, more importantly, when we should break it.
Firstly, a couple of examples to illustrate the different techniques. Firstly, telling:
I was discussing this concept with the members of my writers group the other night, and it got me thinking about why we should obey this rule. And, more importantly, when we should break it.
Firstly, a couple of examples to illustrate the different techniques. Firstly, telling:
Early morning. The sun rose slowly, daylight displacing the spent night. It was the start of a new day.
Quite bland, isn't it. There's nothing wrong with the above excerpt - it obeys all the rules of grammar, syntax and spelling - but if it was the first line of a book or a story, would it make you want to read on? Probably not. The problem with the above is more abstract than technical. What does it tell us? It tells us that it's morning. Very little else, really. And it takes three sentences to do so.
(It also uses the passive voice, but that's a subject for another post)
Also, there is virtually no atmosphere. No sense of the season, or what the weather is like. We know it's the morning because it tells us so.
Let's see if we can improve it a little.
(It also uses the passive voice, but that's a subject for another post)
Also, there is virtually no atmosphere. No sense of the season, or what the weather is like. We know it's the morning because it tells us so.
Let's see if we can improve it a little.
Thin, watery rays of sun crept over the fields, turning the dew into glistening diamonds depending from the few burnt orange leaves remaining on the trees. Foxes crept back into their burrows, bellies full if they were lucky.
This excerpt is only two sentences, but rather than simply tell us that it's morning, it allows us to infer several things.
It's pretty safe to assume that it's morning - dew on the leaves, nocturnal animals bedding down for the day. But we can also identify the season - burnt orange leaves would suggest Autumn (or Fall, depending on where you live). We know it's slightly damp because of the dewdrops, and that the location is probably rural. There is also a suggestion that perhaps times are harder than they used to be.
Quite a lot of information from a few words, and none of it told to us; rather, things are suggested for us to fill in the blanks. It's also more active, allowing us to engage with the text as readers.
Showing allows you to paint a much richer picture than if you simply tell the reader something. When we are shown something in a piece of writing, it allows us to create our own unique image - based on our own life experiences - that makes the writing feel much more real to us and gives us cause to invest in it.
So, showing makes for much richer writing. Does this mean we should never 'tell' the reader anything? Well, no. There are times when it's more appropriate to tell. Part two of this post will cover when and why you should tell.
It's pretty safe to assume that it's morning - dew on the leaves, nocturnal animals bedding down for the day. But we can also identify the season - burnt orange leaves would suggest Autumn (or Fall, depending on where you live). We know it's slightly damp because of the dewdrops, and that the location is probably rural. There is also a suggestion that perhaps times are harder than they used to be.
Quite a lot of information from a few words, and none of it told to us; rather, things are suggested for us to fill in the blanks. It's also more active, allowing us to engage with the text as readers.
Showing allows you to paint a much richer picture than if you simply tell the reader something. When we are shown something in a piece of writing, it allows us to create our own unique image - based on our own life experiences - that makes the writing feel much more real to us and gives us cause to invest in it.
So, showing makes for much richer writing. Does this mean we should never 'tell' the reader anything? Well, no. There are times when it's more appropriate to tell. Part two of this post will cover when and why you should tell.