Requested by: -WordAddict

This can be difficult for a lot of people, because you never know when your under doing it, or over doing it. I hope with this I can simplify things for you all.

Telling is very blunt and simple. It's boring. Sentences that tell are generally shorter, and they don't give you a good picture of what is happening in the story because they're vague.

There are five easy things to remember that will assist you in showing instead of telling.

1) Point of View

The point of view is who the reader sees the story through. Depending on the POV, you can use different words to show not tell. You can show thoughts, or group actions, or increased dialogue.

2) Dialogue

Dialogue is easy to read and understand. It shows who the characters are and furthers the plot. It's an easy way to 'show' what's going on in your story.

3) All the Senses

Don't just use what the characters see as a description. Use all the senses. What do they hear, or smell, or feel, or taste.

4) Picture Nouns and Action Verbs

Don't have dull diction. Words like good, bad, happy, sad, said. They're all dull and show instead of tell. Are they smiling? Does their lip quiver? Are their eyes shinning? How are they saying their words?

5) Write In Scenes

While scenes are a theater term, they apply to writing as well. A scene has a beginning and end, and when you're performing it, you should be pulling in the reader. The beginning should draw the reader in somehow, and the end should leave the reader wondering what will happen next. While you're writing imagine that your story will be performed, how would they perform it?

Requests are open, so is asking questions!

~Lydia