Show don’t tell. Show don’t tell. Show don’t tell. When I was a teaching assistant at the University of Pittsburgh from 2004 to 2006 I was constantly telling my writing students to “show don’t tell”. What does “show don’t tell” mean?
It means presenting a short story in a way so that the reader sees in his or her mind what is going on in the story instead of the writer “explaining” what is going on.
Seeing something is far more immediate than being told about something. But just how does a writer write in such a way that the reader can see the story in his or her mind?
The only way for a writer to make a story more visual is to describe actions and things. A reader can see an action. A reader can see a thing. But the writer must not write about any action or thing. The writer must write about those actions and those things that are invested with meaning.
In this way, the flash fiction, short short, very short story and micro fiction writer must spend less time writing about thoughts and emotions and more time writing about meaningful actions and things.
This is why a “show don’t tell” story will always be tighter than a story that explains.
The ebook that is available here at the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is a perfect example of “show don’t tell” fiction. Just go to the sidebar on the right and click on the link to download your copy of Compressionism: The Pittsburgh Stories.
Filed under: eBook | Tagged: Copressionism: The Pittsburgh Stories, eBook, emotions, flash fiction, micro-fiction, movies, Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette, short short, short story, Teaching Assistant, thoughts, University of Pittsburgh, visual, Writers, writing, writing students | Leave a Comment »
Never Start A Story This Way
Image via Wikipedia
Novice writers often make this mistake. Don’t you make it.
Hello hello hello, my brother and sister bloggers, creative writers and Flash Fiction Fanatics. When I was teaching at the University of Pittsburgh as a grad student I was thankful that none of my writing students turned in a short story that began with the protagonist waking up in bed and thinking about life.
And don’t you do it either. Doing it is the equivalent of having dead air on the radio. It’s the equivalent of starting a one hundred-yard dash standing straight up instead of being done in the starting blocks. It’s the equivalent of waiting for a bus with a group of other people and then when the bus arrives you get on the bus and only then start searching for your bus fare instead of getting on the bus with your money in your hand.
Don’t do it.
Click on the Ebook tab at the top of the page to download your copy of Compressionism: The Pittsburgh Stories.
Rate this:
Filed under: Commentaries | Tagged: bloggers, bus, Compressionism: The Pittsburgh Stories, creative writers, download, eBook, Flash Fiction Fanatics, grad student, life, mistake, money, people, protagonists, radio, short story, story, teaching, thinking, University of Pittsburgh, Writers, writing students | Leave a Comment »