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SHOW versus TELL

When we're little, the children books our parents, grandparents, or closest caregiver read at bedtime mostly "tell" us how the hero and/or villain maneuver throughout the tale. As we progress to the next level and begin reading ourselves, we often prefer similar kinds of stories — those that tell us about the hero's challenges and efforts to overcome the nasty villains.

As readers further mature, many seek a more intimate relationship with the characters
 — one that allows them to "feel" the same excitement, fear, sadness, and other emotions experienced by the characters.

This is where "show, don't tell" comes into play as a strategy for a writer of young adult or adult books comes in.

By showing (or describing) the emotional actions and elaborating on the characters' sensory impacts, the readers, themselves, feel as if they are part of the story.

In some sense, you, the author, paint a vivid picture by delineating the internal and external actions, sensory receptions, and the reactions to them in such a way that the reader begins to feel as if they are the character, experiencing the same elation, terror, or sorrow.

By "showing" what takes place, the reader feels as if the story is unfolding within and around them while they are a participant. On the other hand, "telling" can leave the reader feeling as if they are outside, observing from above as they absorb the words on the page.

So, instead of telling the reader, "When Junior spotted the wasp at the edge of the tree hollow, he felt scared," show the reader what happened: "Two wiry antennas appeared from a dark hole in the tree, and a wasp slowly crawled to the edge of the hollow. Junior sucked a deep breath and gulped."

While "telling" the story works very well for younger readers, many more-experienced readers desire that intimate relationship with the characters and the story. They often prefer an author to "show" how the story develops and characters react.​


For further examples of the use of "showing" a story as a primary approach, take a peek into the "Look inside" feature of my sequel, The New World: Blue Moon Generation, on Amazon!
Look at the Sequel on Amazon
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