Show, Don't Tell - part VII
Can you feel it?16 total reviews
Comment from Giddy Nielsen-Sweep
I always enjoy reading these pieces about writing. Even though I don't do much prose any more, it helps me in my poetry writing. Learning about the senses and how to use them has been a great joy for me. Thank you for this piece. Giddy
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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I always enjoy reading these pieces about writing. Even though I don't do much prose any more, it helps me in my poetry writing. Learning about the senses and how to use them has been a great joy for me. Thank you for this piece. Giddy
Comment Written 15-May-2022
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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Many thanks Giddy. G
Comment from Bridge
Thank you for this post. Very informative and helpful. The following sentence was most helpful as far as I'm concerned.
"I'm so sad.', is something that most people wouldn't think to themselves."
It is easy to remember the message it seeks to convey.
Thanks for sharing.
With regards
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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Thank you for this post. Very informative and helpful. The following sentence was most helpful as far as I'm concerned.
"I'm so sad.', is something that most people wouldn't think to themselves."
It is easy to remember the message it seeks to convey.
Thanks for sharing.
With regards
Comment Written 14-May-2022
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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Much appreciated.
Comment from Bill Schott
Another useful lesson in how to give one's stories more believability and pass emotions and the resulting actions to the reader for better understanding.
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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Another useful lesson in how to give one's stories more believability and pass emotions and the resulting actions to the reader for better understanding.
Comment Written 14-May-2022
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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Many thanks again, Bill. G
Comment from Shirley McLain
Excellent sharing once again. It is so helpful. I think this is one of the hardest areas in writing to deal with. Trying to describe emotions is difficult for me. Have a great day or evening. Shirley
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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Excellent sharing once again. It is so helpful. I think this is one of the hardest areas in writing to deal with. Trying to describe emotions is difficult for me. Have a great day or evening. Shirley
Comment Written 13-May-2022
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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Much appreciated once again. G
Comment from dmt1967
This is another really informative piece. I find the balance between show and tell a hard one to conquer. I am learning an awful lot from these pieces. Thank you for sharing and take care.
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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This is another really informative piece. I find the balance between show and tell a hard one to conquer. I am learning an awful lot from these pieces. Thank you for sharing and take care.
Comment Written 13-May-2022
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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I'm glad these are helpful. G
Comment from K. Lang-Slattery
This is one of the best of this series. I found it extremely informative, on point, and I kept nodding my head and smiling as I read your explanations. I sometimes find my trust that the reader will understand a characters emotions a bit disappointing. Some readers seem to need high drama to see the emotions and subtle body language doesn't tell them enough. Thankfully, most readers do understand even subtle clues. Thanks for this series of essays.
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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This is one of the best of this series. I found it extremely informative, on point, and I kept nodding my head and smiling as I read your explanations. I sometimes find my trust that the reader will understand a characters emotions a bit disappointing. Some readers seem to need high drama to see the emotions and subtle body language doesn't tell them enough. Thankfully, most readers do understand even subtle clues. Thanks for this series of essays.
Comment Written 12-May-2022
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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The thing to remember is not not necessarily write for the lowest common denominator. If you spoon feed the reader your work can stagnate. G
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Thanks for your important perspective.
Comment from lyenochka
Great writing advice, Gareth! I remember when you wrote these some years ago giving us clear advice about what the standard writing tips say and what is really done. I still remember how you said that Stephen King advised against using adverbs but he still used them.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge to help us learn!
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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Great writing advice, Gareth! I remember when you wrote these some years ago giving us clear advice about what the standard writing tips say and what is really done. I still remember how you said that Stephen King advised against using adverbs but he still used them.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge to help us learn!
Comment Written 12-May-2022
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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Yep, King is one of the top proponents of adverbs! lol G
Comment from royowen
Some excellent advice here, oh yes indeed, history of image creating probably dates bah much further than Christ who was a master at it, with stories such as the prodigal son, of course the Old Testament is really true, but allegorical so a timeless source of inspiration, beautifully written, blessings Roy
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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Some excellent advice here, oh yes indeed, history of image creating probably dates bah much further than Christ who was a master at it, with stories such as the prodigal son, of course the Old Testament is really true, but allegorical so a timeless source of inspiration, beautifully written, blessings Roy
Comment Written 12-May-2022
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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Much appreciated, Roy. G
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Welcome
Comment from Wayne Fowler
Nice writing. Thank you.
This is all easy for 'you' to say!
It's not far from you telling me to pick up the earth and move it a bit further from the sun.
Personally, I tend to not show emotions, therefore, it is extremely difficult to, as I say it, strip my protagonist bare, exposing himself to the world and all whom he cares about.
I'm going long on you.... but if you've seen Larry McMurtry's 'Lonesome Dove', I'm Cap'n Call who wishes he could be like Gus.
Sorry to have belabored. Best wishes, he said apologetically. lol
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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Nice writing. Thank you.
This is all easy for 'you' to say!
It's not far from you telling me to pick up the earth and move it a bit further from the sun.
Personally, I tend to not show emotions, therefore, it is extremely difficult to, as I say it, strip my protagonist bare, exposing himself to the world and all whom he cares about.
I'm going long on you.... but if you've seen Larry McMurtry's 'Lonesome Dove', I'm Cap'n Call who wishes he could be like Gus.
Sorry to have belabored. Best wishes, he said apologetically. lol
Comment Written 12-May-2022
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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LOL, but showing the internal machinations can be just as beneficial. There's also the outward manifestations of other people's emotions that we see everyday to observe. All the best G
Comment from Sandra Stoner-Mitchell
Superb, Gareth, another incredibly helpful artical to go into my Gareth file. While reading this one, I was picturing emotions, and how I'd express them without actually saying. You are doing the site a big favour, my friend. I just hope everyone appreciated you. :)) Sandra xx
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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Superb, Gareth, another incredibly helpful artical to go into my Gareth file. While reading this one, I was picturing emotions, and how I'd express them without actually saying. You are doing the site a big favour, my friend. I just hope everyone appreciated you. :)) Sandra xx
Comment Written 12-May-2022
reply by the author on 16-May-2022
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The laws of dwindling returns with these posts. Hardly anyone reads them or anything of mine these days.
i won't play the game and spend hundreds of dollars to compete. it's counter-intuitive to me. In the real world, you don't pay people to read your work. Other way around.
I know who my real readers are and that's ok.
I just got another honourable mention in the 'writers of the future' competition this week so I feel somewhat validated. lol
The 'community' aspect of the site has fallen greatly here, you can see it in the profile section when someone writes something, shares news or wins and virtually no one comments or offers thanks any more.
Ah well, such is life. lol
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I know what you mean. It's changed such a lot since the early years. All the fabulous authors either died of left. Now you have to be careful what you say because you are going to upset someone. I lost fans writing this book, but those that stayed have been great and such a help. I've found these Show, Don't Tell, pieces have been great. When I do the big edit I'll have these beside me.
Well done on another heads up in the Writers of the Future, comp. Where did you find that? You are a talented writer, so I'm not surprised you got a mention. (that's not a load of flannel, either!)
