Most Common Writing Errors ✔️

IMPORTANT: Showing Over Telling

Every author is different.

When it comes to showing over telling, use what fits your style. Do you want to show in a more simplistic way, a way that involves metaphors, a complex way, or something entirely different? Find what suits your style and go with it!

I've said this many times before, but the 2 + 2 = 4 equation of writing is another way to describe showing versus telling.

The 4 is the telling while the 2 + 2 is the showing. If you give the audience 2 + 2, they have to work to get 4. Meanwhile, if you give the audience 4, you're taking away their ability to figure it out for themselves.

Readers like to engage with what they're reading. They like to ask questions, feel tension, feel the emotions of the characters, and interpret books the way they want to based on open-ended questions writers raise in their works.

Readers want to solve the problem on their own, so give them 2 + 2, not 4. Let them solve the equation. If you solve it for them, you're taking away their engagement.

I hope that makes sense. Please forgive me, I've explained the 2 + 2 = 4 equation so many times my brain is starting to hurt from explaining it.

Now, let's go over some questions I often see about showing over telling.

Is It Okay To Use Telling?

Yes!

There is nothing wrong with using telling every once in a while, or even often (depending on what type of story you're writing). In general, most stories need to do some form of telling. Exposition is the biggest example of that. Blatantly telling the audience about the world, past events, etc. can be more beneficial than finding ways to show it.

While you want to be engaging, you also don't want to waste time and hurt the pacing. A great example of this is the new Ahsoka TV show. No spoilers, don't worry, but there are many shots that just... show the world. It shows ships landing, Sabine using her bike to go down the same road twice, Sabine's tower on multiple occasions (like Ahsoka looking around it), etc.

While the world is pretty and the visuals are great, we don't need to be shown the world so often. It's detrimental to the pacing, which is why the common consensus for Ahsoka is that the pacing is atrocious.

You don't have to show all the time. It also varies depending on what type of story you're writing. In children's stories, for example, telling is crucial since kids aren't going to pick up on the nuances of showing the same way teenagers and adults will.

And when I say children's stories, I mean young kids.

I'm not saying never using telling; I'm saying try to limit it (again, depending on what type of story you're writing), especially when it comes to using adverbs.

Why Do Writers Hate Adverbs?

Every writer has a different stance on adverbs. Adverbs are a part of speech; when used appropriately, I don't think there's anything wrong with them.

The problem is, many writers don't use them appropriately.

And now, let's get into my stance on adverbs.

I hate adverbs more than I hate myself.

That's saying something.

While I do use them every once in a while, it's not uncommon for me to go several chapters in a row without an adverb ever making an appearance.