Vox Newman

Showing vs Telling

There’s a great amount of talk in the writing community in regards to prose (especially in fiction) and this talk usually begins with the idea of ‘showing vs telling’.  The trouble is, as far as I can tell, it seems to be a general idea with few specifics offered as to how to achieve this.  When I was younger I read quite a few books on the subject and in the last decade there’ve been a plethora more (some now in podcast form).

But, what I have yet to encounter is a guide that actually explains the strategy necessary to achieve this.  It’s almost as if a writer is on a quest to find the answer for themselves.  It’s a trial and they’re expected to ‘feel it out’.  I’d like to think I’m in the know on this idea, as when I go back and read what I’ve written in the last decade, for the most part I’ve avoided many of the mistakes I’ve seen in other writing and I’ve managed to eradicate the mistakes I myself used to make.  That’s certainly not to say that my writing is perfect, but there’s no such thing as perfect when discussing human creativity, just bad, good enough or great etc.  I’d like to imagine I’ve avoided bad, terrible, atrocious etc.

(more…)