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    Show, Don't Tell: How to Write Vivid Descriptions, Handle Backstory, and Describe Your Characters’ Emotions
    Show, Don't Tell: How to Write Vivid Descriptions, Handle Backstory, and Describe Your Characters’ Emotions
    Show, Don't Tell: How to Write Vivid Descriptions, Handle Backstory, and Describe Your Characters’ Emotions
    Ebook94 pages2 hours

    Show, Don't Tell: How to Write Vivid Descriptions, Handle Backstory, and Describe Your Characters’ Emotions

    By Sandra Gerth

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    "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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherYlva Publishing
    Release dateOct 20, 2016
    ISBN9783955337490
    Show, Don't Tell: How to Write Vivid Descriptions, Handle Backstory, and Describe Your Characters’ Emotions

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    4.5/5

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    • 5/5
      Found it to be very useful to introduce my kids to creative writing.
    • 5/5
      Amazing book. Absolutely amazing. Helped me boost my writing at an extreme level, the quality of my Prose is forever affected by this book. Would recommend it to writers both old and new :)
    • 4/5
      I'm not a beginner writer, yet I still found it very useful. It should be a must read.

    Book preview

    Show, Don't Tell - Sandra Gerth

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    www.ylva-publishing.com

    Table of Contents

    Books in the Writers' Guide Series

    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

    Goal Setting for Writers

    Time Management for Writers

    Point of View

    Books in the

    Writers’ Guide Series

    Goal Setting for Writers

    How to set and achieve your writing goals, write a book, and become a successful author

    Time Management for Writers

    How to write faster, find the time to write your book, and be a more prolific writer

    Show, Don’t Tell

    How to write vivid descriptions, handle backstory, and describe your characters’ emotions

    Point of View

    How to use the different POV types, avoid head-hopping, and choose the best point of view for your book

    To my publisher, Ylva Publishing, who generously decided to make this book available for free so we can help more authors improve their writing skills.

    1. Introduction —

    What this book will teach you

    Show, don’t tell is probably the single piece of writing advice that beginning writers hear most often from editors and writing coaches. Authors who master this important technique take their writing to the next level and captivate their readers with powerful scenes that keep them turning pages even though it’s two in the morning and they have to work the next day.

    But many writers struggle to understand this principle or have difficulty applying it to their own work. Even authors who have already published several books often don’t grasp the finer nuances of showing vs. telling.

    I know because I was one of them. When I had a few books under my belt, I thought I knew what showing meant. But then I realized that I had only just scratched the surface. With every novel I wrote and every book about writing I read, I deepened my understanding and discovered more layers to show, don’t tell. As an editor and a mentor, I try to teach my writers what I learned about showing and telling. Since there are only so many writers I can mentor and only so many manuscripts I can edit, I decided to write a book about show, don’t tell so I can help more writers of all skill levels understand this powerful principle and apply it to their work.

    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.

    HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS BOOK

    The only way to improve your writing is by writing, so this book includes not only concrete examples but also exercises so you can practice what you’re learning—using your own work in progress,

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