How to Show, Not Tell: The Complete Writing Guide (Video)

 How to Show, Not Tell: The Complete Writing Guide

 

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining. Show me the glint of light on broken glass.” – Anton Chekov

Writers often have different definitions of “showing” and “telling.” Diane Callahan define “telling” as any time in the story when an important moment lacks depth in terms of detail or narrative voice. However, telling can also be an excellent tool for controlling the story’s pacing and delivering important information.

In this video, she'll explore the origins of this advice and why “showing” appeals to audiences on an emotional level. Using examples from popular works and advice from published authors, she’ll outline six strategies you can employ to produce stronger writing:

1. Use evidence to support your claims.
2. Replace the abstract with the concrete.
3. Substitute vague descriptions with specific sensory details.
4. Avoid relying too much on body language.
5. Show emotion through dialogue.
6. Filter observations through the narrative voice.

 

Writing Fiction: Anatomy of a Scene (Video)

Writing Fiction: Anatomy of a Scene

 

Scenes are the building blocks of stories. Every scene in a novel contributes to the story in some way, whether through characterization, atmosphere, or plot progression. In examining the anatomy of a scene, we’ll start with the big-picture skeleton, then dive into the essential organs, and end with the skin—the outward appearance of the writing itself.

Introduction (0:00)
Skeleton (0:28)
Essential Organs (3:40)
Skin (6:57)
Overview & Writing Exercise (9:11)

 

 Writing Prompt: Alien Encounter

 

These exercises were written by IWW members and administrators to provide structured practice opportunities for its members. You are welcome to use them for practice as well. Please mention that you found them at the Internet Writers Workshop.

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 Exercise: In 400 words or less, create a scene where your character encounters something completely outside his or her frame of reference. The experience may force the character to reevaluate prior beliefs or assumptions.

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Imagine how your character might feel upon encountering a 10-foot Kodiak bear face-to-face. A young child meeting someone with a severe medical condition, or watching an unusual animal for the first time. Someone's response to an initial view of the Grand Canyon. A hunter's first kill. A soldier's first taste of battle. A mortician's assistant on the first day of employment.

Help us to feel the character's range of emotions in assimilating the new experience: wonder, awe, fear, amusement, disgust, what have you.

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Critique: In your critique, tell the author whether the description was such that you could visualize the scene and experience the character's emotions. If the scene fell short, be sure to tell the author what could be improved.

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 Some more writing prompts for you to try.

 Writing Prompt: The Other Side Of the Story (v. 2)

 

These exercises were written by IWW members and administrators to provide structured practice opportunities for its members. You are welcome to use them for practice as well. Please mention that you found them at the Internet Writers Workshop.

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 Exercise: In 400 words or less, rewrite a scene from a story familiar to most of us from the point of view ofsomeone other than the main character. Tell us the name of the story you have chosen and who your viewpoint character is, and then show us what is different about the way that character sees the action and personalities involved.

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Every character in a story, from the main character right down to the dog, has a reason for being included, a reason for his or her actions, a point of view. Yes, some characters are just part of the machinery of the plot--the butler announcing the arrival of the Duke. But once that butler gets back to his pantry and starts gossiping with the housekeeper, he becomes part of the story, and we get a different perspective on what's going on in the house.  The way all of the characters interact, the way each one views the action, deepens and enlivens the story.  In the best stories, the characters, good and bad, act for clear reasons, their  interactions providing the conflict and narrative tension that makes for a good read.

Some examples:

How might Rhett Butler or Melanie Wilkes see Scarlet O'Hara in Gone with the Wind?

See Stephen King's Cujo, where we watch the thoughts of a dog as he goes mad.

What would the wolf have to say about Little Red Riding Hood?

Some writers have already rewritten a known work from another point of view. Tom Stoppard, in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, showed us Hamlet through the eyes of two minor characters.

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When critiquing, consider whether we gain new insight into a familiar tale (the characters, their motivations, the twists of plot) by experiencing it through a different sensibility. Why does this  supporting character's point of view matter? Would this constitute a whole new telling of the story?

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 Some more writing prompts for you to try.

How to Write Your First Novel | Tips for New Writers (Video)

How to Write Your First Novel

Tips for New Writers

 Writing your first novel can be intimidating. In fact, most writers will attempt several novels before they get to the end. So what’s the secret? Unfortunately, there isn’t one—but, there are tips and strategies you can implement to keep yourself on track, get the draft done, and prove to yourself that you can do it.


TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Intro
0:33 - Basic story building blocks
1:15 - Don't overcomplicate
1:50 - Get in late
2:12 - Accomplish something with each scene
2:48 - Use chapters consistently
3:34 - Set small goals
4:34 - Prepare to get stuck
5:47 - Return to the elements of story
6:25 - Find a writing community

 

 

 Writing Prompt: Opening Up

 

These exercises were written by IWW members and administrators to provide structured practice opportunities for its members. You are welcome to use them for practice as well. Please mention that you found them at the Internet Writers Workshop. 

 

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Exercise: In 400 words or less, write a scene in which a character takes a risk out of greed or need for money, showing the reader what leads to that choice or what results from the action taken.

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"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."-- 1 Timothy 6:10 (KJV). Despite that admonition, most of us, Christian or otherwise, don't mind picking up a few bucks now and then, and some have become downright greedy.

Mysteries, thrillers, memoirs, literary novels--all those genres include stories in which characters pursue wealth, or somehow act out of desperation, seeking to gain money only to end up in difficult straits. For this exercise, you are to write a scene that shows a character facing or succumbing to the temptation to pull off a monetary coup, or suffering the consequences of doing so.

You have lots of latitude, but make sure the reader understands the character's motivation, and wants to know more about what happens. The character can be someone like a mugger or a bank robber, a mother desperate to feed her children, a businessman seeking power, or anyone else who decides to take a chance in order to make a monetary gain. If you choose to show the consequences, they need not be dire or even very serious, but they must make clear that the character involved pays a price.

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In your critiques, note whether the character comes alive, and whether you can see the motives behind the character's actions.

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 Writing Prompt: Generation Gap

 

These exercises were written by IWW members and administrators to provide structured practice opportunities for its members. You are welcome to use them for practice as well. Please mention that you found them at the Internet Writers Workshop.

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 Exercise: In 400 words or less, write a scene involving two characters related to one another by birth or marriage, one more than 75 years old, the other at least 25 years younger.

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The characters may be almost anyone: mother and daughter,  grandfather and granddaughter, first cousins or siblings, uncle and nephew, even wife and husband. Don't tell us their ages--let them show us.

The setting may be a family residence, a nursing home, a golf course, a kitchen, a prison, anywhere.   They may be meeting after a long separation, or they may live  together and associate with each other daily. See if you can give us an idea of their previous attitudes toward each other--loving, hostile, or something else--and explore the emotions generated during this meeting.

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Exercise: In 400 words or less, write a scene involving two characters related to one another by birth or marriage, one more than 75 years old, the other at least 25 years younger.

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Critique: Do the characters ring true? Does their dialogue seem  lifelike? Is the scene properly set? Consider all aspects of the  writing.

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 Some more writing prompts for you to try.