↠ detail 'a how to book'

↠ #3 tip ↠ SHOW IT DON'T TELL IT!?

WANT TO GET STARTED ON WRITING? Here comes the third advice:

Ahhh but how should I write it!? I know when to start and what to write about - but how? 

Okay here comes a very important part - the writing itself. Now you know when and what to write about - but how will you write it then? How will you get that amazing idea onto the paper and share it with others in an interesting way? 

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    ↠ show it don't tell it

What. This makes no sense. What the heck is she talking about?!

This is something I've mentioned so many times, that I've lost count by now - and I even have to remind myself very often about this! It's basically a tip to how you deliver your story - how you write it so it gets interesting for the reader.

Basically it's about the difference between showing and telling. In showing you show the reader what is going on. You let them come to conclusion on their own and let them use their imagination. The other way is telling. What is meant with telling is the fact that you cut directly to the core and tell what the reader needs to know - give them cold (and very boring) facts. You leave practically nothing to the imagination or their 'Sherlock' tiny investigation. 

This makes no, no sense. What the hell does Sherlock got to do with this?!

Well that's a very good question - and what I am talking about isn't all that obvious when you are a beginner in the process of writing. So here comes an example so you can understand it better;

TWO EXAMPLES WHICH EXPLAINS WHAT THE HELL I'M BABBLING ABOUT: 

the telling way aka the no - no way: 

She was a girl of 17 with blonde hair and blue eyes. Her parents were very poor, as her mother was too sick to work - besides this they were horrible to her. She hated them. The girl was named Viola and lived in a small house in Germany, she had a good friend but they were not best best friends - she had actually never had a real best friend. 

[okay in this example I am telling you all the facts. I'm telling you everything I want you to know - there's absolutely no room for the reader to be sherlock and draw the conclusions themself. Now in the next example the reader have to be a little Sherlock and draw the conclusions themself - though of course I'll help them a little on the way!]

the showing way aka the yes - yes way:

She couldn't believe she was already 17, as she watched the blonde fair hair and the blue eyes in the reflection staring tiredly back at her. She could see she looked older - more mature, but still 17 years? Next year she would be legal and she could finally be able to leave this awful house. 

"Viola! You're always late! You stupid girl!" She could hear her mother's intoxicated voice call through the thin walls which had a disgusting yellow color in the corners - not to mention the moth holes in the wallpaper. Her father didn't earn much - and her mother was too sick to work. Viola felt chills running down her spine at the sound - remembering how last night had ended with her mother throwing a bottle after her, as Viola hurried up the stairs with tear chained cheeks. 

She wanted to travel - travel to Paris and leave this little German town behind forever! 

[okay as you can see this is already filling way more than the example with the 'telling'. Therefore I'll leave out the part about her friend not being her best friend - as I think you get my point just with this.]

Conclusion of this tip is even though it takes much longer time and requires way more descriptions - always always always make sure you're not just telling a bunch of facts. Show it to us readers. Let the readers draw the conclusion. In that way you'll be able to create that image in the mind of your readers, so they feel like they're there themselves! Show us how the walls are thin and disgusting so we can understand Viola's family is poor instead of just telling us straightforward. Have someone yelling her name - or have her read it from a post it note! As long as you don't just tell us! 

Okay this is more of an overall thing to remember all the way through your story. Therefore it's a little more tricky making an assignment. But I'll try!

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ASSIGNMENT:

I will give you some facts about an episode, which you have to write a short paragraph about. Now the thing is you have to SHOW IT NOT TELL IT. Okay here are the facts; 

▵ it's a wealthy home

▵ main character is named Richard 

▵ Richard is very angry [you decide why]

▵ Richard is 18 years

my assignment answer is going to go like this...

He knocked over the golden designer lamp in frustration as his heart beat was racing. How could he! How could his father tell him this! And now! It felt like his skin was burning, as he heard his father's voice talk to him calmingly; "Richard - it's not up for discussion. You're only just turned 18 for crying out loud!" Richard turned to stare at his father with wide eyes and flushed cheeks from the anger boiling inside of him towards this man. "But why would you do this to me! Why!" He wanted to cross the soft wine red carpet, pass the shinning piano forte and hit his father. He was seeing red. Not even the beauty of the crystal chandelier could fascinate him this time, when he would try to ignore his father's words as usual. It had been like this ever since they had moved to Paris. No, this time he couldn't hold it together. He took a step forward with his blood boiling.

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Okay now you can try to post your assignment answer! Find some 'symbols' which could show how rich Richard is. Find some ways to show how he's angry.