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The most important lesson a writer ever learns is:
This confuses a lot of kids. I think it is because you’re always being told ‘Tell me a story’, or ‘tell me what you did at the weekend.’
But telling a story is actually quite boring. Have you ever asked a friend to tell you what happened in a film? They will probably say something like this:
That is fine, but it isn’t very interesting – it certainly isn’t like watching the film. The best writing makes the reader fell like they are ‘seeing’ and ‘hearing’ what is happening in the story.
Bad writing is always ‘telling’ the reader:
Good writing shows you the characters:
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These versions ‘show’ you what the characters are doing: reading the paragraph, you get to ‘see’ and ‘hear’ Bob being a bully, or Bald Worm showing how much his loves his computer. The reader starts to use their imagination!
Quiz
Read the following sentences. Do they ‘show’ the reader what’s happening, or tell her? Move your mouse over the Bald Worm buttons for the answers.
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Showing makes your stories become real, because you start thinking about what we call characterisation, or ‘shown feelings’ mannerisms, facial expressions and the actions a character uses to show their emotions.
Click here to learn more about Characterisation and Shown Feelings.
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Rewrite it, using dialogue and facial expressions to make the scene come to life.
(c) Nick Hitchen 2007 |
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Last updated on
August 14, 2007
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