Show or Tell?

by mariaschneider on July 2, 2009

By Jeff Gerke

If you’re around fiction instructors very long, you’ll encounter the phrase “Show, don’t tell.” Telling is when a novelist simply spoon-feeds the reader information: “Jim was a lying twerp who cheated on his taxes.”

3216655104_7f91aed878_mShowing, by contrast, is when the novelist reveals clues that bring the reader to the same conclusion. So, for example, a scene might show Jim at the front door of his house talking to some Girl Scouts. We see a wad of $100 bills behind his back, but when the girls ask if he’d like to buy some Thin Mints, he says he’s broke. Then he slams the door and sits down at his desk, shoves aside stacks of cash like in ransom movies, opens a dog-eared copy of Never Pay Taxes Again! and resumes filling out his IRS 1040—with lots of zeroes.

The Problem with Telling

Personally, I dislike telling in all its guises. I don’t like telling as exposition, telling as backstory, or telling to explain everyone’s motivations. I don’t like flashbacks because they’re usually just telling, and I don’t like long “Oh, glad you asked” conversations, which I call “telling in quotation marks.”

Telling is bad because it stops the story and forces the reader to receive information she doesn’t care about. But even I won’t say that telling is always evil. Indeed, in my Operation: Firebrand novels I invariably have a briefing scene in which someone tells the characters, and thus the reader, what’s going on and what has to happen. Isn’t that telling?

No, and here’s why: Telling stops the story and forces unwanted information on the reader. When the briefing scene comes in the Firebrand novels the story doesn’t stop—it can’t actually go forward without it. And the reader is interested in what’s going to be covered. Your reader will tolerate telling to the degree that she is interested in what is being told and to the degree that the story can’t advance without the information.

Let’s say you’ve got a character who plays pro football. You’ve gotten us interested in his life and challenges. But then you launch into the story of his childhood. This doesn’t work because we don’t care about his childhood. So it’s telling because you’re stopping the story to tell us things we don’t care about and without which the story could proceed quite nicely.

But what if our player had been injured just before the big game and you have the doctor come in and tell us what the prognosis and treatment plan is. Is that telling?

It’s not telling because the reader wants to know and the story can’t go on until we learn this information. Your reader will tolerate exactly the amount of telling as interest in the topic you’ve built up in said reader.

Think of it as a bank account. If you give us zero deposits into our “interest account” on a topic and then try to make a massive withdrawal (by making us listen to exposition on a topic about which we have zero interest), you’ll be instantly overdrawn and you’ll get nasty letters from your banker, or in this case, you’ll get the disinterest of your reader.

Ah, but if you’ve made numerous deposits into that interest account and now you want to tell us a little about it (but be sure it’s something we must know to advance the story), then go ahead and make that withdrawal. But be careful: you might have deposited three units of interest into that account, but if you try to withdraw an amount of telling that requires four or more, you’ll be overdrawn again. You can blow the whole amount you’ve built up simply by lingering too long in telling mode.

When Exposition Works

2172001078_d66b957d45_mA good example of this formula done right is in Star Wars: Episode I. We’ve had lots of action and adventure in the movie before we ever have a long exposition scene. We finally get one when Anakin has taken Qui-Gon and Jar-Jar and Padme to his house so Mom can make Jawa Bean Salad.

If you watch that scene carefully, you’ll notice that they’re basically talking about what needs to happen, what they’re going to do, and why they can’t do it in other ways. It’s a talky-talky scene, which might’ve come across as a momentum killer. But it plays out fine and we get our bearings about what’s going to happen for the next hour of the movie.

There are a number of reasons why this works. First, it’s fairly interesting to watch. Qui-Gon catching Jar-Jar’s tongue is a classic moment. There are also interesting interpersonal dynamics going on, like Anakin trying to get his mom to let him race again and Qui-Gon starting to put his Jedi moves on Anakin’s mom. So it’s not just pure exposition.

Second, we’re interested. How are our heroes going to get off this planet? How is this pure-hearted boy who loves his mom ever going to become Darth Vader? Why do we think Padme is more than she seems? The writer has built up enough interest in this moment that we can bear hearing a bit of jabber (the Hutt).

Third, the story simply can’t proceed without this information. The characters are stuck. But in this scene they come up with a plan for how to move forward.

Fourth, this scene comes pretty deeply into the story. The writer didn’t try to give it to us within the first ten minutes of the movie. We’re fully engaged in the story before it comes. Lots of aspiring novelists I work with like to explain everything within the first 20 pages, feeling, perhaps, that once all that’s out of the way they can get on with the story.

But the Star Wars scene works. The formula is honored and the exposition is successfully communicated.

How is it in your story? Are you asking your reader to stomach large (or even small) quantities of telling about something in which she has zero interest? And I mean story interest here. A reader might be inherently interested in the inner workings of the internal combustion engine—but she might not be. You can’t assume your reader will automatically be interested in something just because you put it in a book. You have to make the reader interested in the subject by making it important and interesting inside your story.

Chances are, the six people who enjoyed Operation: Firebrand—Crusade were not, before they read my book, terribly interested in the plight of persecuted Christians in Sudan. But it was my job as a novelist to get the reader to invest in a character there so she would begin to care. When the time came for the briefing, the reader’s interest was high.

This is how technothrillers work, incidentally. And historicals. They educate as they entertain. But the education can’t start until the entertainment is in high gear.

You can give backstory information (i.e., telling) to exactly the same degree as you’ve built up reader interest in the topic and as the reader must know this information for the story to proceed.

downloadExcerpted from The Art & Craft of Writing Christian Fiction by Jeff Gerke. Jeff is a veteran editor and novelist who has been working in the Christian publishing industry since 1994. He is publisher of the small indie publishing house Marcher Lord Press and writes fiction under the pen name Jefferson Scott.

Flickr photos: whatmegsaid/ pagedooley

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5 Qualities of Good Flash

by mariaschneider on July 1, 2009

83966074_903fac4eb9_mAs the stories in the Editor Unleashed/ Smashwords Flash Fiction 40 Contest continue to be analyzed under an atomic microscope, I wanted to offer up a few of the qualities I’ve observed that help a flash piece stand out.

It’s a tough form to pull off, and I’ve yet to find a satisfying explanation of what makes a flash story work. Many assume that short pieces are easier to write, but that’s far from true. A quality flash story needs to read like a complete story in 1,000 or less, without feeling like you’re reading a SparkNotes version of a longer story.

Here are 5 elements that help create a standout flash. Examples are pulled from a few of the winning entries.

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Flash Fiction 40 Contest Winners!

by mariaschneider on June 29, 2009

editors_choice_180x180I’ve spent the last two days reading and re-reading the 280 stories entered in the Editor Unleashed/ Smashwords Flash Fiction 40 Contest. I’d like to commend every writer involved for taking up the challenge and getting involved in this decidedly unconventional writing contest.

It’s been a wild ride for all concerned, and I hope the process of getting behind the scenes in a writing competition has been enlightening. I’ve watched this contest unfold with enjoyment, and I’m amazed and inspired by so many of the great stories that were entered. It was tough competition—several of the editors assisting me commented on the quality of the entries. So thanks to all for helping to make this contest a success!

Congratulations to our winners in the Editor Unleashed/Smashwords Flash Fiction 40 Contest:

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Why it’s a Good Time to Dive into Writing

by mariaschneider on June 22, 2009

By Lisa Abeyta

260184577_770f9b74611I was in the middle of squeezing a mango in the produce section when a woman asked me, “So, Lisa, are you still a writer?”

It took a few minutes to place her, seeing as I was still focused on my mango and all, but eventually I recalled she was a member of a local writer’s group.

“Busier than ever,” I said.

She almost seemed disappointed. “Oh.  I didn’t think anyone could make it as a writer in these times.”

Say what you like about the state of the publishing world.  I’m not convinced.  Then again, I’ve never been one to look at the odds and believe they applied to me.  I pitched my first article a decade ago with no formal training, no credentials, and no track record.  I dove off without a lifejacket and landed a sale on that first pitch.

I am convinced that more opportunities are available to break into freelance writing today.  If you have put off pitching an article, a book, or some other writing project afraid you have missed your window of opportunity, think again.

Here are 3 reasons it’s a good time to be a writer:

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Q&A: Author Seth Harwood

by mariaschneider on June 18, 2009

seth_closeupSeth Harwood is part of a new wave of savvy fiction writers who are propelling themselves into careers through their own online efforts. In Seth’s case, he developed and promoted a podcast that eventually led to a book deal for his crime novel Jack Wakes Up. In this interview, Seth gives Editor Unleashed readers the inside track on how an author can take the reins of his writing career and drive his own success.

So how did you land your book deal?
I’ve been writing fiction for almost 15 years now. For most of that time, I did all the “right” things for an aspiring author, all the stuff they tell you to do—got an MFA at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, got about a dozen stories published in various literary journals, and so on. But after hundreds of rejections and no agent willing to come within a mile of my collection, I began to lose hope. At the same time, my attempts at writing a literary novel weren’t going so well. Basically, I didn’t know what I wanted to write about.

Finally, I decided to try writing a crime novel, which became Jack Wakes Up. And I had a ball with it. I’ve always loved action, thriller, and kung-fu movies and shows like “The Sopranos,” “Dexter,” and “The Wire,” but until then I was never willing to let these loves figure into my writing.

Around this time, I started learning about fiction podcasts and was blown away by the numbers of listeners some unpublished authors were getting for their work. A friend introduced me to Scott Sigler, the daddy of them all, who helped me work through the technical issues. So in July of ‘06, I started podcasting Jack Wakes Up. I figured it would be a fun experiment, and that it would help me move on from that novel and start writing something else. But pretty soon, listeners actually started writing in to say they liked what I was doing and that they wanted more, and my numbers started growing fast. Suddenly I felt like I was getting a little bit of exposure—and, more important, for the first time in my writing career I was actually getting consistent positive feedback from an audience, which was an amazing feeling.

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1,000 Members Unleashed!

by mariaschneider on June 17, 2009

190713106_a00b597d9a_mThis site hit a milestone yesterday and I wanted to share it here. The Editor Unleashed forum just topped 1,000 members.

That 1,000 number is significant to me because that’s the number I decided I needed to reach to continue pumping my time and energy into Editor Unleashed.

I made a deal with myself when I launched this site last October: Hit 1,000 members on the forum before the one year anniversary and I could keep going (aka not get a real job). In my mind anyway, 1,000 meant I was  building something worthwhile.

Why 1,000? That number got stuck in my head after reading this post by Kevin Kelly: 1,000 true fans

A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author—in other words, anyone producing works of art—needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.

Now I’m not foolish enough to think that just because 1,000+ people have signed up for the Editor Unleashed forum, that I have 1,000 true fans. But it does tell me that maybe I’ve been building something that others are connecting with.

So here’s a big thanks to all of the members of the Editor Unleashed forum, especially the community pillars (you know who you are) that help make it such a great online home for writers.

What are the milestones you’re reaching for right now? How close are you to achieving them? I’d love to hear about it.

-Maria Schneider

Flickr photo by crystalflickr

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You Be the Judge

by mariaschneider on June 16, 2009

2135057566_cf5b1bbaed_m1Going through a slush pile is tough, time-consuming, often excruciating, occasionally exhilarating work. And being the first-round judge in a writing contest is the same. What criteria to use? How do you compare stories of various genres? Do you rank stories lower for grammar issues and typos?

There are so many factors to consider, and the truth is, a story just works or it doesn’t. There is no clear-cut formula or objective set of criteria. That’s the joy of creative writing.

I wanted to offer writers an opportunity to participate in a fully transparent writing contest and see the full range of what typically gets entered—the sublime stories, the terrible ones, the typos, the sexist and racist, the in-your-face offensive—the full gamut of what a first-round reader would see in a writing contest. And I also wanted to give writers a chance to help rank the stories and have a say in selecting the winners.

Of course, having your story up for other people to judge and competing openly against other writers is a nerve-wracking experience. I congratulate all of the writers who are keeping an open-mind and fully participating in this experience. I can’t guarantee you’ll win, but I can guarantee that you’ll take away a valuable learning experience. There’s nothing like going through the slush and putting yourself in the judge’s seat to help you understand how an editor or a contest judge’s thought-process really works.

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Flash Fiction 40 Voting Starts today!

by mariaschneider on June 15, 2009

“There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories.”-Ursula K. Le Guin

Voting for the Editor Unleashed/Smashwords Flash Fiction 40 Contest begins at 9 a.m. EST today!

Voting will take place from June 15-June 26 (midnight EST on June 26) on the Editor Unleashed forum. You must be a registered forum member to participate in story ranking (registration is free).

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Avoid Tunnel Vision

by mariaschneider on June 11, 2009

By Jordan E. Rosenfeld

3378953317_f1e2a21a49_mFiction writing is hard work. OK, maybe it’s not back-breaking work, but I’ll be the first one to advise anyone choosing a craft to pick something easier, like say: metallurgy.

All kidding aside, in building a world—because no matter whether you’re writing an autobiographical novel or something set on another planet, you’ve got to sell that to readers—it’s easy to get tunnel vision. Working hard to make your setting picture perfect can come at the expense of character dialogue. A focus on creating a believable character might get in the way of strong plot planning. It’s impossible for any writer at one time or another not to let the global picture subsume the many necessary layers that build a novel or story.

That’s why I’ve learned to love and appreciate the scene, and why I wrote a book about scenes and can’t seem to stop talking about them. The scene is more than just a concept created by English teachers; it’s the crucial DNA of your narrative—encapsulated in a scene are all the elements needed to form a compelling story. The key to making scenes work and help you avoid tunnel vision is balance.

Every scene is a cell containing all the information needed to build a story, and must have all of the most important elements of story making:

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Your Mailing List

by mariaschneider on June 10, 2009

75699271_cf18da72a2_mNext up in this series of stuff-I-learned-the-hard-way: How to create a mailing list.

Sure a mailing list and an e-newsletter may seem excessive when you have a blog with an RSS feed. But just think of it as one more way to stay connected to your readers, who may not have the time to obsessively follow your blog feed.

Even if you don’t yet know what you could possibly write about in a newsletter that you’re not already including in your blog, start actively collecting e-mail addresses anyway. I did that several months ago, even though I didn’t have a clue at the time what I wanted to include in a newsletter.

I’ve since landed on an e-newsletter plan for Editor Unleashed and I’m so glad that I started passively collecting e-mail addresses from my readers along the way. You should too.

How to begin collecting e-mail addresses:

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