Show Don’t Tell

Posted on by Sable Aradia

By Mandy Wallace

So I’m working on this short story I started for some Glimmer Train contest or other. But it grew like a weed all unwieldy, and now it’s burst through its word count limit and its deadline. And I wish that was this story’s biggest problem.

Its biggest problem is that I’m still struggling to balance ye old show versus tell rule, and it’s got me so micro focused on each passing second and every minor character thought and gesture and useless detail of the environment that it’s all just TOO MUCH INFORMATION!

As much as I thought you and I solved this show, don’t tell rule once before, it’s turned out to be a tougher trick to master. But we both know that learning a lesson doesn’t always work in real life the way it does in stories (i.e. one and done). That’s why I’m so excited to share the formula that finally balances all the confusing show, don’t tell info out there.

Read the full article at Mandy Wallace’s blog Write or Die.

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Published by Sable Aradia

I'm a Pagan and speculative fiction author, a professional blogger, and a musician. I'm proudly Canadian and proudly LGBTQ. My politics are decidedly left and if you ask for my opinion, expect an honest answer. I am owned by a cat. I used to work part time at a bookstore and I love to read, especially about faith, philosophy, science, and sci-fi and fantasy.