Thanks so much for the comment! 😁 I tend to get all worked up when people say "show, don't tell" because most people use this advice in the wrong way. I've wanted to make this video for a long time. Glad you found it useful.
5:20 establishing the main point - seems analogous to show don't tell to me. The sentences are using the protagonist's voice to paint a picture of her judgements, implying her values, then her disappointment, rather than telling "she was unhappy and disappointed in her marriage". Edit (penny drops) ah, but it's not done through the action, the events, right?
Most people explain "show, don't tell" as meaning that you should help your reader visualize what a character is feeling instead of coming out and telling what a character is feeling. I strongly disagree with this interpretation.
@@memoirwritingforgeniuses I understand why it riles you up. It leads beginning writers down the wrong path for many years. Even experienced writers. I recently read a book from a UA-camr that has been writing for about 15 years. He is creative and has a solid understanding of story structure, sentence and paragraph structure, etc. But he’s a big proponent of show don’t tell. His book was really well done but it had no soul. His thriller had a lot of great twists but I didn’t care about any of his characters.
@@BbGun-lw5vi, I hear you! I hate it when advice that is well-intentioned actually makes writing worse. It's also problematic when people repeat this advice over and over again without thinking about what it really means, when award-winning writers are doing the opposite. There, that's my vent for the day. ☺
No, wait, don't end it there. What was the other side of that solution? Darn it. "It was a basic first day at the office until..." doesn't really establish the kind of job (the point of the tell exercise) she's going into. Maybe I'm just distracted and missed the other side of this conversation. Sometimes you need to tell boring things as set up and establishment. Not everything that happens during your story is an event worthy of being stepped through in front of the reader. Some stuff can happen offscreen in the same way as montages can work. Tracking but bot bogging the reader down in monotony. This also speaks to temporal enigmas that plague lessor draft versions.
Nicely done! People have such a hard time explaining the nuances of "show don't tell," but i think you really hit the nail on the head!
Thanks so much for the comment! 😁 I tend to get all worked up when people say "show, don't tell" because most people use this advice in the wrong way. I've wanted to make this video for a long time. Glad you found it useful.
Thank you, Wendy! That is superb and sound advice, as always. Very practical and easy to grasp; thanks again.
Thanks for the comment! I've wanted to make this video for a long time. 😁
As always brilliant! Thank you Wendy.
Thanks, Evening. 💙💚💛
Thanks for this fantastic video❤
Hugs to you, Carrie!
5:20 establishing the main point - seems analogous to show don't tell to me. The sentences are using the protagonist's voice to paint a picture of her judgements, implying her values, then her disappointment, rather than telling "she was unhappy and disappointed in her marriage".
Edit (penny drops) ah, but it's not done through the action, the events, right?
Most people explain "show, don't tell" as meaning that you should help your reader visualize what a character is feeling instead of coming out and telling what a character is feeling. I strongly disagree with this interpretation.
For a free, 7-part video class on how to structure your memoir: www.geniusmemoirwriting.com/free-class.html
You make the best videos on show don’t tell.
Ha! Thank you so much. The whole topic gets me so riled up! 🤣
@@memoirwritingforgeniuses I understand why it riles you up. It leads beginning writers down the wrong path for many years. Even experienced writers.
I recently read a book from a UA-camr that has been writing for about 15 years. He is creative and has a solid understanding of story structure, sentence and paragraph structure, etc. But he’s a big proponent of show don’t tell. His book was really well done but it had no soul. His thriller had a lot of great twists but I didn’t care about any of his characters.
@@BbGun-lw5vi, I hear you! I hate it when advice that is well-intentioned actually makes writing worse. It's also problematic when people repeat this advice over and over again without thinking about what it really means, when award-winning writers are doing the opposite. There, that's my vent for the day. ☺
No, wait, don't end it there. What was the other side of that solution? Darn it.
"It was a basic first day at the office until..." doesn't really establish the kind of job (the point of the tell exercise) she's going into.
Maybe I'm just distracted and missed the other side of this conversation.
Sometimes you need to tell boring things as set up and establishment. Not everything that happens during your story is an event worthy of being stepped through in front of the reader. Some stuff can happen offscreen in the same way as montages can work. Tracking but bot bogging the reader down in monotony. This also speaks to temporal enigmas that plague lessor draft versions.