21
Showerthought: Is 'show don't tell' actually overrated?
I read a blog post from a published novelist last week who said she breaks 'show don't tell' on purpose in her best-selling books. She gave an example where she just wrote 'He was angry' instead of describing clenched fists and red faces, and readers liked it more. Has anyone else tried ignoring this rule on purpose?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
betty_shah13d ago
I saw an interview with Neil Gaiman where he said 'show don't tell' is more of a guideline for beginners, not a hard rule. He talked about how sometimes you just need to say a character is sad or scared to keep the story moving. That made sense to me because I've read books that go overboard with showing everything and it just drags. I tried breaking it in my own writing last year. I wrote a scene where I just stated my character was bored instead of describing her tapping her foot or staring at the clock, and it worked fine.
9
the_terry13d ago
Doesn't that make you wonder how many other "hard rules" are really just training wheels for beginners?
8