Have you ever heard the expression “show don’t tell?”
Most people learn this expression when they are being taught to write in school, but the concept is very much important to anyone who wants to create a story. It is important to show the readers the world you are creating on paper rather than telling them what is occurring. Writing is much like painting in this aspect, and it is harder to do than it sounds. Here are four tips to keep in mind when you begin to write.
1. Be Descriptive!
Being descriptive is more than adding a string of adjectives to describe a noun. It is creating an image using carefully constructed words so that readers see what you are describing.
Telling: She was nervous before stepping on stage.
Showing: While standing behind the red curtain that separated her from the larger audience, her hands became moist with sweat and her throat began to run dry.
These two sentences are discussing a girl who is nervous, but the second sentence allows readers to come to that conclusion on their own rather than having information given to them. However be cautious of the amount of description you use; it is possible to add too much description and in doing so you lose the audience’s attention.
2. Be Specific!
It is important to take the time to explain. Rather than using the vague expression “It was a wonderful feeling” What was the wonderful feeling? What makes this feeling wonderful? By explaining the feeling in more detail it allows readers to feel the wonderfulness as well. Asking “why” is helpful in deciding what needs further specific details.
3. Use Sensory Detail!
Similar to real life, people need to be able to figuratively see, smell, feel, hear, taste the things in the environment you are creating. It is important to add details other than that of sight for the readers to fully capture what you are saying.
“Her hair smelt of coconut and sand.”
“His feet echoed down the fall as he left.”
4. Use Dialogue
Using dialogue allows readers to experience a scene for themselves. Most stories are character based, so by showing interaction between characters it brings the scene alive. Dialogue can tell readers a great deal about characters, their relationships, emotion, and mood.
Telling: He loved her.
Showing: “I am completely in love with you, silly girl,” John said as he leaned down to press his lips against her forehead.
By having the character state it, the readers can hear his voice and see the relationship between the people of the story. People want to connect to other people, and dialogue helps with this.
When writing you must keep your audience in mind, and one way to keep them interested is by engaging them in the story and painting them a picture of what is occurring. So remember show your audience the world you have created on paper rather than telling them about it.
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