Show, Don't Tell - How to write vivid descriptions, handle backstory, and describe your characters' emotions

Sandra Gerth

• Publisher: Ylva Publishing
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9783955337490
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Authorship
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Show, don't tell is probably the single most-important piece of advice given to writers. But many writers struggle to understand this powerful principle or have difficulty applying it to their own work. Even experienced authors sometimes don't grasp the finer nuances of showing and telling. In this book, Sandra Gerth draws on her experience as an editor and a best-selling author to show you how to show and tell you when to tell. Each chapter includes concrete examples and exercises that will hone your writing skills. Whether you're a novice writer working on your first story or an established author who has already learned the basics of showing and telling, this book will help you to: Grasp the difference between showing and telling. Understand why showing is such a powerful tool. Spot telling in your own manuscript. Fix bland passages and turn them into compelling scenes. Keep from telling what you have already shown. Avoid the three danger areas of telling. Describe your characters and your setting in interesting ways. Put powerful emotions into your writing. Incorporate backstory into your novel without resorting to telling. Recognize telling in dialogue. Avoid overshowing and swamping your readers with too many details. Learn when telling is actually a good thing. Immerse your readers into your story and keep them captivated from beginning to end.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Books in the Writers' Guide Series
• Title
• Dedication
• 1. Introduction — What this book will teach you
• 2. Definition — What show, don’t tell means
• 3. The importance of showing — Why showing is usually better than telling
• 4. Nine red flags for telling — How to tell when you’re telling
• 5. The art of showing — How to turn telling into showing
• 6. Redundancies — How to avoid telling what you have already shown
• 7. Danger area 1 — How to handle backstory
• 8. Danger area 2 — How to handle descriptions
• 9. Danger area 3 — How to describe emotions
• 10. Telling in dialogue — How to recognize and fix it
• 11. Overshowing — How to avoid showing too much
• 12. The uses of telling — When telling is the better choice
• 13. Exercises — How to exercise your showing skills
• 14. Solutions — How to rewrite the telling in chapter 13
• 15. Conclusion — What to do now
• About Sandra Gerth
• Other books from Ylva Publishing
• Copyright