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You have probably heard the writing advice to “show, don’t tell.”
Most of the time, it’s good advice because showing keeps readers actively involved in the story, but showing isn’t always better than telling.
This blog post explains three situations in which you might want to TELL instead of SHOW.
Since we all have busy lives, I thought I’d give you three quick tips you can apply to your manuscript or add to your self-editing checklist right now. Each of these tips will help you avoid point of view (POV) violations that will jar readers out of your story and …
Human communication is mostly nonverbal, so it makes sense to use plenty of body language, gestures, and facial expressions in our writing. Showing your characters’ emotions through their body language is also a wonderful way to avoid telling (More about showing vs. telling here). Instead of saying she was nervous, …
There are three kinds of words to keep an eye on during the revision process: filler words, overused words, and words that are repeated too close together. Cutting out each of them will tighten your prose and make it more polished. What are filler words, and why are they …