Showing vs. Telling | A NOVEL Writing Site.com

Characterization, Showing vs. Telling

Writing Lesson 29 – Showing Actions and Emotions

By Melinda Evaul, on March 26th, 2010

We all have unique facial expressions and gestures. In a novel, these make each character different. Joe may frown when he’s thinking. Mary may pull her eyebrows together. Tracy might purse her lips and tap a finger against them. You might cross your arms and tap your foot.

We’ve discussed showing vs. telling in [...]

Language usage, Showing vs. Telling

Writing Lesson 25 – Use Comparisons to Show

By Naomi Musch, on February 26th, 2010

Using Comparisons Brings Life to Dead Adjectives

Whether you are writing a short story, a novel, or a non-fiction essay, you will need to give description, and often times to do so you will use comparison. It’s been said that “nothing means anything except as compared to something else”. In other words, if you [...]

Characterization, Goal, Motivation and Conflict, Plotting, Showing vs. Telling

Writing Lesson 12 – Creating Inner Conflict

By Teri Dawn Smith, on November 13th, 2009

Creating Emotion in Writing

Almost every writing class or craft book will tell you the same thing: fiction must create a compelling emotional experience. The problem is these teachers also let you know that if your character cries, the reader probably won’t.

So how do you build this emotion? Simply writing highly emotional phrases [...]

Language usage, Showing vs. Telling

Writing Lesson 11 – Taste the Rainbow!

By Lynn Dean, on November 6th, 2009

Sensory Writing is Sensational!

Reading and writing are by nature very visual activities, but most people have five senses: sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch. The more sensory perceptions you are able to engage in your writing, the more your reader will be able to experience your story almost first-hand. That’s a very good thing! [...]

Showing vs. Telling, Writing in Active Voice

Writing Lesson 9 – Liven It Up!

By Naomi Musch, on October 23rd, 2009

Show, Don’t Tell

If there’s one thing you will be told as a writer over and over again, it’s Show, Don’t Tell. So, if you haven’t heard that said before, allow me to be the first. What does it mean to show and not tell? It means to let the reader see, hear, taste, [...]