27 March 2007

Showing versus telling

I've been reading a lot of fun Electric Spec submission stories lately. I've come across a lot of neat ideas. Thank you for sending them in!

Unfortunately, I have also read a lot of 'telling'. Some telling is okay with me, but a story that consists ONLY of telling is not. As writers we're supposed to be telling a story, but IMHO showing a story is much better. I'll give you an example:

TELLING: He was an attractive man.

SHOWING:He had Paul Newman's eyes, Robert Redford's smile, Sylvester Stallone's body, and Howard Hughes's money.

Which of these descriptions grabs you?

Addendum: I must admit I stole this example from someone else, and frankly it is a bit tell-y.

1 comment:

ssas said...

I think you've showed your age with that last example. ;P