Comments on: Show or Tell?

By: seanmur

seanmur — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:51:48 +0000

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By: bridgettecop

bridgettecop — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:54:38 +0000

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By: michaelnim

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By: More on Telling and Omniscient Viewpoint « The Adams Zone

More on Telling and Omniscient Viewpoint « The Adams Zone — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:17:50 +0000

[...] not as black and white as “everyone” makes it out to be. I like this explanation from Editor Unleashed: Telling is bad because it stops the story and forces the reader to receive information she [...]

By: Sunday Writing Wash-Up 12th July « Shack's Comings and Goings

Sunday Writing Wash-Up 12th July « Shack's Comings and Goings — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:10:37 +0000

[...] Show or Tell? Jeff Gerke, guest posts on the formidable Maria Scheider’s blog. He outlines the problem with telling and where exposition can help. [...]

By: Jordan Rosenfeld

Jordan Rosenfeld — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:43:18 +0000

I don’t think anyone’s dissing telling outright, Galen. The reason there’s so much push to show and not tell is that telling comes instinctively to most people. Or by default, you might say. It’s where most writers start out before they learn how to render vivid the world/characters they’re creating. Showing, however, often falls by the wayside. But I agree that no story can be told without some exposition and that one needs to learn to show wisely–not everything!

By: Galen Kindley

Galen Kindley — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:23:50 +0000

Hmmm. Well, sorry, but telling has its place…make that places. Nothing sets my limited hair on fire faster than an unbridled attack on telling. It’s so easy to beat up the helpless.

While telling may be all the evil things suggested, when an author wants to communicate some facts quickly, cleanly, and without ambiguity, telling works. It’s just that simple.

I’d much rather be told in one or maybe two sentences that so-and-so is a rat-bastard, than sit through three paragraphs showing so-and-so acting rat-bastardly. Particularly, if so-and-so isn’t all that important to the storyline. In the end, the information gets to the reader, but, one method is much simpler.

So, I’d say, prefer showing, but use telling where needed. Maybe I’m the only one that works for, but, well…it wouldn’t be the first time.

Best regards, Galen

Imagineering Fiction Blog

By: SpikeTheLobster

SpikeTheLobster — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:54:45 +0000

Quite possibly the best description of “show, don’t tell” I’ve ever seen (it has to be, I actually retained the information for once…). Brilliant, thank you.

By: Jessica Rosen

Jessica Rosen — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 06:38:44 +0000

This was a timely article for me. I’d been leaning too heavily upon telling in my novel and didn’t realize it was the huge suckhole for energy I was experiencing. “Aha!” I said and then, “Ohno! What do I do to fix this?” Well, fixing it meant ripping huge sections out, becoming more clever and rewriting to great extent. It’s a much better story now. Thanks for taking the time to write the article.

By: Cool social media, writing and fun links | Meryl.net

Cool social media, writing and fun links | Meryl.net — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:12:38 +0000

[...] Show or Tell? Never can get enough of this topic. Still need to work on it myself though I write nonfiction. [Link: Jane Friedman] [...]