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Agree or disagree?

Show versus tell

is the single most important aspect of storytelling

and the one new writers mess up most often.

Agree or disagree?

23 replies on “Agree or disagree?”

If it’s happening right now – show it; if it’s not happening right now, what’s the best way to tell it and get back to the story that’s happening now?

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*Raises hand*

I’ve done that.

I had a scene in a book where a guy had to spend eight or 12 hours stuck at a train station during a worker strike. My editor was like, cut all this. Just say he was stuck all day in the train station!

Brilliant.

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Question of balance. Shift from one to the other as the narrative requires, then check it back on the re-write and ask yourself…..’Does anyone really want to ready this bit?’

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Yeh, particularly if you sit there alone and try and do an audio book version….Oooh that can be harsh, particularly when you are half way through a paragraph and you’re thinking…..
‘Whaaat!’

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I don’t know that I would say it is the MOST important aspect of storytelling. I personally find pacing to absolutely vital. Bad pacing will ruin a story that ticks all the other boxes. Knowing when to show vs when to tell does play into pacing. I definitely think new writers (and many veteran writers) struggle with pacing.

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My editor said the same thing, “.. too much detail. The reader can figure it out.” I agree with storytelling, showing is always better than saying. If it is the Most important, I think there are other things just as important (i.e. character development, story pace, etc.) But I’m a novice still learning.

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Holding my hands up, one of the most difficult lessons for me to learn, and I still haven’t finished learning by any means, is the difference between show and tell. Dan knows, he helps me a lot. I don’t know if it’s because I’m dyspraxic and my brain is hard-wired different, (very true please look it up) or if it’s just a very long, sharp learning curve. However, I am getting better. I do love descriptive prose, but that is my thing as a reader. Great one this week, Dan. 🙂

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