Show, don\u2019t tell.<\/p>\n
How many times have you seen that written in a rejection you\u2019ve received? What does it mean? <\/p>\n
When an editor asks for show, we\u2019re basically asking an author to allow the reader to be a \u201cfly on the wall\u201d observing the story as it unfolds. <\/p>\n
Readers can\u2019t \u201csee\u201d the past life of the hero or heroine. Since a story is mostly written in present tense, the past is gone, and cannot be shown. Therefore, it can only be told. It is essentially set in stone. A little bit of telling is okay in a story, but since it is past, it is also stagnant, and has no possibility of change. An example of telling:<\/p>\n
Henry always thought the moon was made of charcoal. As a young boy, he figured that God had simply lit a big fire when He said, \u201clet there be light,\u201d and then tossed one of the spent, ashy gray briquettes out into the night sky. It never occurred to him to wonder how God started the fire. <\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n An author should tell only enough to bring the hero and heroine to the present point of meeting, and then drop the past. Present and future tense offer the possibility of change \u2013 the hero can get the girl, the lost cause may not be so lost, the possibility of resolution and a happy-ever-after is active and ever present in the back of the reader\u2019s mind. They read in hope of seeing the characters resolve the difficulties, and then resume the life they are supposed to have in the future. <\/p>\n The author\u2019s task is to unfold impossible odds, and make them possible. As the story is written the author should be revealing the layers of the hero and heroine\u2019s characters, their reactions to the plot that surrounds them, and the way the characters solve the issues to bring forth that Happy-Ever-After. <\/p>\n Show the hero and heroine actively trying to get together, learning about each other and ultimately, being together. Don\u2019t let their feelings stagnate while you tell about something in their pasts, instead, bring it forward, such as this example:<\/p>\n \u201cI remember when I was little, I thought the moon was made of burnt charcoal.\u201d Henry smiled at Vanessa as he slipped an arm around her shoulders. See how the past was introduced in the present? Note also that you are building character. Henry feels comfortable enough to slip an arm around Vanessa, and she is comfortable enough to snuggle in. So\u2026they like each other. The conversation is silly, but the underlying meaning is revealed to us as implication \u2013 they are flirting, tucked in together, enjoying a lover\u2019s moon. Game, set, match. <\/p>\n Activate your characters. Give them the present, and the future. Show, don\u2019t tell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Show, don\u2019t tell. How many times have you seen that written in a rejection you\u2019ve received? What does it mean? When an editor asks for show, we\u2019re basically asking an author to allow the reader to be a \u201cfly on the wall\u201d observing the story as it unfolds. Readers can\u2019t \u201csee\u201d the past life of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[504],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editing-writing-advice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u201cBecause of the glow?\u201d
\u201cNo, because of the ashy, gray color. I thought God lit a fire and tossed one spent briquette into the night sky.\u201d
\u201cI guess that\u2019s not any funnier than the story behind Orion\u2019s Belt or Osiris.\u201d Vanessa snuggled in closer. \u201cOf course, that begs the question, where did God get the charcoal briquettes?\u201d
\u201cYou know, I\u2019ve never though of that.\u201d Henry looked at her, bemused. \u201cI guess I thought God got the same kind of bag at the grocery store that my Dad bought every time we had a barbeque.\u201d
\u201cDid I ever tell you your mind moves in mysterious ways, Henry?\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n