A few nights ago the Old Soldier watched a tape of The Misfits starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift. It’s a movie worth watching. It was good to see how well Marilyn could handle a serious role. Everyone did some fine acting.
The Old Soldier watches old movies in order to learn how to write better flash fiction. Good movies teach a writer to “show don’t tell.” Show don’t tell allows a reader to “live” in the story.
A flash fiction writer has to keep in mind many things when writing a story and show don’t tell is one of the most difficult things to achieve. Show don’t tell simply means the writer depends more on action than explanation to move a narrative forward.
John Houston, the director of The Misfits, understood this perfectly. You will find the finest examples of the show don’t tell technique in Compressionism: The Pittsburgh Stories (E-Book). Every young writer should have this book. Download your copy now.
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Flash Movie Review: The Misfits
March 29, 2010 — pittsburghflashfictiongazetteA few nights ago the Old Soldier watched a tape of The Misfits starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift. It’s a movie worth watching. It was good to see how well Marilyn could handle a serious role. Everyone did some fine acting.
The Old Soldier watches old movies in order to learn how to write better flash fiction. Good movies teach a writer to “show don’t tell.” Show don’t tell allows a reader to “live” in the story.
A flash fiction writer has to keep in mind many things when writing a story and show don’t tell is one of the most difficult things to achieve. Show don’t tell simply means the writer depends more on action than explanation to move a narrative forward.
John Houston, the director of The Misfits, understood this perfectly. You will find the finest examples of the show don’t tell technique in Compressionism: The Pittsburgh Stories (E-Book). Every young writer should have this book. Download your copy now.
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