Telling. Don't do it! What is telling? Well, here's an example:
Jakko walked across the green and told Thaimis that the army was en route.
OR you could SHOW...
Jakko sprinted across the field, then pulled to a halt in front of Thaimis. He took a brief second to catch his breath, then spoke: "The army is en route."
See the difference? Whenever possible, describe the action, don't give an account. Granted, there are exceptions... You don't want to describe every second of a thousand mile journey between two countries, nor do you want to describe your character's morning routine every time he wakes up.
That being said, opt for showing whenever you can. It makes for a better read.
Oops! Are you there? A few more letters to go.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on making it almost to the end of the A to Z Challenge. Join us on May 7th with your Challenge Reflections post.
Lee
A Faraway View
An A to Z Co-host blog
A lot of unexpected vacancies from the house left me with less time to write than I'd like. Even my novel got shelved for about a week. Next year, I'm going to write all the posts in advance...
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