Tuesday, 21 September 2010

Showing, not telling...

Most writing books advise that you attempt to involve the reader by 'showing' rather than merely 'telling' the events and people, but not all how-to books agree with that advice.

I like this attempt to distinguish the two modes, and explain how they both have their uses - from the Advanced Writing website...

  • Please note how much more efficient “telling” is than “showing.”
  • Please note how much more vivid “showing” is than “telling.”
  • Now here’s an important point: You want to “show” the interesting parts of your story and “tell” the uninteresting parts.

That seems like a very useful distinction, to me. Follow the link for more detail.

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