Telling vs Showing, Part 2 of 2

posted in: Writing Craft 1

TELLING: I call this the art of “Tellography.” An author tells the story rather than allow the reader to live it vicariously. The advice goes: tell as little as possible in your story (very little.) Though it sounds simple, it’s a hard lesson to learn. Here is an example of two ways of telling the same incident, and then the right way … showing: Here are some examples of ways some authors boringly tell: Adverbs that end in ly: Adverbs … Read More »

Telling vs Showing Part 1 of 2

posted in: Writing Craft 0

Excerpt from A Strategic Path to Writing Mastery TELLING: I call this the art of “Tellography.” An author “tells” the story rather than allow the reader to live it vicariously. In my workshop sessions with my Reno Writing Clinic, I use this example to best illustrate “showing” versus “telling.” Telling through description In walking around the Union army encampment, I had to be very careful to act in every way like a man. Dressed in his baggy uniform, my curves … Read More »

Writing? How Hard Can it Be?

posted in: Writing Craft 8

Why don’t many writers master their craft? They don’t think there is a craft to master, and they don’t realize how difficult it is to craft a good work of fiction or non-fiction. At some point, if they get involved with a credible writing group or organization like the Florida Writers Association (or my local FWA group, the Reno Writing Clinic), the realization will hit home that there is a craft to master. I remember going to the 2003 Florida … Read More »

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