A friend recently confessed that she was bored by a book she had read for a book club. Having just slogged through the same book myself, I agreed completely. As I writer, I knew exactly why the book didn’t work for me. But the woman I was chatting with couldn’t articulate why she hated the…
Tag: Show Don’t Tell
She Cried a River: Best Blogs for Writing Emotion
If you’re like me, when writing on deadline you just toss words into the scene during the rough draft. This helps the pace and power of the scene. Without pondering each sentence to find the precise word, it’s easier to capture the excitement of the scene and accurately present the conflict. After the dust has…
The Anatomy of Emotion
I attended a workshop called Words, Words, Words at the Colorado Gold Conference a few weeks ago. As Susan Mackay Smith and Carol Berg waxed poetic about the importance of vivid, precise word choice, I despaired. I have a few strengths as a writer, but vocabulary is not one of them. I find myself particularly…
Pregnant Purple Prose
I once called a writer friend and got the following voicemail greeting: “Pardons begged, we are presently truant and prevented from undertaking dialog with callers at present. After the modulation, please recite your sobriquet and cellular digit-string to better enable us an opportunity to reciprocate the honor of this summons.” The title of this article…
Guest Post: Don’t Fight the Feeling – Kim McMahill
By Kim McMahill Who hasn’t heard the phrase, “show, don’t tell,” in conjunction with writing instruction and advice? It may be basic guidance, but it is the most critical component of crafting a compelling story. Despite sounding like a simple concept, the skill is more difficult to master than one might think, requiring conscious effort and…