tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post8482664455496277614..comments2024-03-28T10:41:26.999-06:00Comments on Blood-Red Pencil: Show Don't TellDanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14471919576687777886noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-28145146094153704902010-12-23T12:57:03.829-07:002010-12-23T12:57:03.829-07:00Excellent! This is one of the most important thing...Excellent! This is one of the most important things for new writers to learn.And it can be a challenge.Heidiwriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02593338979995203659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-71101584414806883132010-12-18T00:36:30.279-07:002010-12-18T00:36:30.279-07:00Great post, thanks. It's always helpful to hav...Great post, thanks. It's always helpful to have this reminder :)<br /><br />My critique partners have helped me see that I'm guilty of telling the reader what's to come, and then showing them. So a paragraph of mine often has a foreshadow/tell sentence, then 3 or 4 sentences of showing what I just told. Something I have to keep my eye out for ;)<br /><br />RachRachael Harriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16764930101064527321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-6726484927896906572010-12-16T16:34:25.498-07:002010-12-16T16:34:25.498-07:00Good post >:)
I know the show vs tell stuff in...Good post >:)<br /><br />I know the show vs tell stuff in theory, but I think it's difficult to actually do it in a good way.<br /><br /><a href="http://cold-as-heaven.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow"> Cold As Heaven </a>CA Heavenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07558100567878233142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-29245815770868411382010-12-15T18:34:21.318-07:002010-12-15T18:34:21.318-07:00Informative and well-explained. thanks.Informative and well-explained. thanks.Nick Johnsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-4067853672274847342010-12-15T13:45:57.765-07:002010-12-15T13:45:57.765-07:00Thanks for this, Jodie. I like the way you explain...Thanks for this, Jodie. I like the way you explain the importance of creating a balance between showing and telling, between scene and summary, with intense scenes being "shown" instead of "told".<br /><br /> Also, I appreciate how you back up your points with quotes from well-known writers and credit your sources. That way I know it's not just one person's opinion.Christine Woodnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-76101361499728835242010-12-15T12:02:17.965-07:002010-12-15T12:02:17.965-07:00Thanks Della, Emily and Elspeth. It always feels g...Thanks Della, Emily and Elspeth. It always feels good to help aspiring authors - we all benefit when your novels and short stories become more powerful and get published!Jodie Rennerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17180607353893233389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-47963446529520319842010-12-15T11:26:57.029-07:002010-12-15T11:26:57.029-07:00Thanks for the reminder! I really like this: '...Thanks for the reminder! I really like this: 'The more intense the moment; the more showing you do'.Elspeth Futcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10330102545384369360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-43097099221948687702010-12-15T11:07:26.165-07:002010-12-15T11:07:26.165-07:00Thanks Jodie, I'll be adding a few of your lin...Thanks Jodie, I'll be adding a few of your lines to my post-it board. Espcially: The more intense the moment the more "showing" you do.<br />Great.Emily Wrightnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-89991935195174999582010-12-15T11:01:35.935-07:002010-12-15T11:01:35.935-07:00I'm happy to be reminded: less narrative, more...I'm happy to be reminded: less narrative, more dialogue and action. Isn't it true that I'm not the only story teller that might lapse into long-windedness on occassion.<br />Thanks Jodie for the great blog. I'll now focus on finding the right balance of telling vs showing, and scene vs summary.Della Barrettnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-44906088201554231212010-12-15T09:41:39.156-07:002010-12-15T09:41:39.156-07:00Also, I think describing your main character getti...Also, I think describing your main character getting up, having a shower, getting dressed and having breakfast is just a bunch of "telling" anyway.<br /> <br />Jump to the scene in the elevator as she's late for a meeting at work, or her embarrassed arrival in the meeting, with all eyes on her, or her confrontation with her boss afterward. <br /><br />"Showing" is all about dialogue and action and feelings and reactions, and most of all, about tension and conflict. <br /><br />If there's no tension, and the scene doesn't drive the plot forward or bring out important character traits or motivations, skip over it with a sentence or just a blank space, and get on to a telling scene, one with lots of "punch."Jodie Rennerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17180607353893233389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-40613410769180577972010-12-15T09:22:02.326-07:002010-12-15T09:22:02.326-07:00P.S. Thanks for the intro, Maryann. I'm just a...P.S. Thanks for the intro, Maryann. I'm just a freelance manuscript editor, not an author - unless you count articles and my master's thesis! Jodie :-)Jodie Rennerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17180607353893233389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-460555126726903522010-12-15T09:19:35.111-07:002010-12-15T09:19:35.111-07:00Good point, Terry, Patricia and Maryann. James Sco...Good point, Terry, Patricia and Maryann. James Scott Bell cautions about that. By the way, his book Revision and Self-Editing is just excellent! I recommend it to all my writer clients.Jodie Rennerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17180607353893233389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-17122803967279904402010-12-15T09:00:21.740-07:002010-12-15T09:00:21.740-07:00You are so right, Terry and Patricia, about avoidi...You are so right, Terry and Patricia, about avoiding the danger of showing too much. In a screenwriting class that I took, the instructor cautioned about not including the mundane things of a daily routine unless there is something going on that is important to the story or characterization.Maryannwriteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09479027709233807149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-29753128343005561512010-12-15T08:43:19.889-07:002010-12-15T08:43:19.889-07:00Ditto what Terry said -- Showing can be a trap for...Ditto what Terry said -- Showing can be a trap for the beginning writer who doesn't realize too much detail destroys a novel's pace.Patricia Stolteyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17192369425956406122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-63472973878612108792010-12-15T07:05:36.586-07:002010-12-15T07:05:36.586-07:00I'm often guilty of trying to show everything,...I'm often guilty of trying to show everything, which can drag the pace. Mundane stuff doesn't need to be shown. I try to figure out the critical plot points, and if they're not needed until after lunch, there's no point in describing breakfast. (But the first time I wrote "By Friday, they had ...." it was a killer. <br /><br />Terry<br /><a href="http://terryodell.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Terry's Place</a><br /><a href="http://www.terryodell.com" rel="nofollow">Romance with a Twist--of Mystery</a>Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.com