Comments on: Who’s THAT?

By: pcwrede

pcwrede — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 04:24:14 +0000

Ilse – Try translating it to “Dramatize, don’t summarize;” that’s what most people mean by it, though it’s not as snappy. It’s still not an absolute rule, but there’s enough truth in it that it’s worth considering on a fairly regular basis.

By: Ilse

Ilse — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:41:45 +0000

“Show, don’t tell”
I’ve never liked this; I can’t help taking it too literally. In my mind, if you’re writing, then you’re telling. If you wanted to show, you’d be painting or sculpting or something.

By: pcwrede

pcwrede — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:36:31 +0000

accio_aqualung – “Show, don’t tell” is one of those rules that I hate because it gets mis-applied so very often…and yet there’s no getting away from it, because when it ISN’T mis-applied, it is so very, very true. And if you have trouble with too much infodumping, it’s probably a good thing to add to your toolbox.

Chicory – Gossip is a two-fer: you find out stuff about the character who is being talked about, plus you find out things about the character(s) who are doing the talking.

By: Chicoy

Chicoy — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:33:03 +0000

I never thought about how much you learn about characters through the other character’s conversation. Thanks for pointing it out.

By: Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome

Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:24:28 +0000

I like how you compare it to real life – for some odd reason I never made that connection… how odd!

By: accio_aqualung

accio_aqualung — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:20:05 +0000

I need to remember to show, don’t tell. just because I like reading 300 pages of infodump doesn’t mean anyone else does, and it makes for poor fiction.

By: Chicoy

Chicoy — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:50:55 +0000

This is really useful. Especially as the whole `getting to know’ characters is exactly what I’m struggling with. Lol at `cheat at solitaire’ as an indication of pure evil. I would totally cheat at solitaire if the computer let me.