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Show Don't Tell - Part One
Aug. 24th, 2014 12:49 pmOne of the topics I intend to start adding into my posts are little writing tips and tricks I've picked up over the years. I am by no means an expert and I still make mistakes, but if I can help even one author by pointing out something I've learned, then I'll consider this worthwhile.
One such topic is "Show Don't Tell." It is a phrase parroted at authors over and over again by editors and readers and betas. We hear it all the time and sure we think we know what it means, but when it comes to practical applications, we still don't really know. And it's frustrating because we know how important it is.
This particular topic is going to take multiple posts, I'm sure. Today I want to start with a resource that I've recently discovered that I now believe is very, very invaluable.
This resource is a book, available in hard-copy or for your kindle, and it's called The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression. It is written by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. It is basically a thesaurus of reactions one could use to describe certain emotions while writing them.
Have you ever wanted to describe a character as happy? You know, basically, that smiling can convey this. Or lit up eyes. But don't you get tired of using the same descriptions? Don't you want to vary it? Give the description more depth? This book takes most of the more common emotions and offers ways to help you describe the emotion you wish to present. It offers cues depending on the point of view (First, second, third, etc) from body language to mental responses and the effects of short-term and long-term emotions. There's also a fairly helpful introduction that helps break down what exactly Show Don't Tell means with a few helpful examples.
Each emotion is also accompanied by a writer's tip that can help you deepen your characterization, making your characters more rounded, more people rather than characters.
I am very glad that I chose to invest in this book. I may even check out their other books as well and give you my impressions of those as well. In an effort to further my craft, these kinds of resources are definitely worth the expense and it helps that this one is affordable.
If anyone has any other recommendations for resources helpful to better illustrate a character's emotions, feel free to share!
One such topic is "Show Don't Tell." It is a phrase parroted at authors over and over again by editors and readers and betas. We hear it all the time and sure we think we know what it means, but when it comes to practical applications, we still don't really know. And it's frustrating because we know how important it is.
This particular topic is going to take multiple posts, I'm sure. Today I want to start with a resource that I've recently discovered that I now believe is very, very invaluable.
This resource is a book, available in hard-copy or for your kindle, and it's called The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression. It is written by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. It is basically a thesaurus of reactions one could use to describe certain emotions while writing them.
Have you ever wanted to describe a character as happy? You know, basically, that smiling can convey this. Or lit up eyes. But don't you get tired of using the same descriptions? Don't you want to vary it? Give the description more depth? This book takes most of the more common emotions and offers ways to help you describe the emotion you wish to present. It offers cues depending on the point of view (First, second, third, etc) from body language to mental responses and the effects of short-term and long-term emotions. There's also a fairly helpful introduction that helps break down what exactly Show Don't Tell means with a few helpful examples.
Each emotion is also accompanied by a writer's tip that can help you deepen your characterization, making your characters more rounded, more people rather than characters.
I am very glad that I chose to invest in this book. I may even check out their other books as well and give you my impressions of those as well. In an effort to further my craft, these kinds of resources are definitely worth the expense and it helps that this one is affordable.
If anyone has any other recommendations for resources helpful to better illustrate a character's emotions, feel free to share!
