This week at the writing conference every teacher and student reiterated a rule right out the “writing bible” – show, don’t tell. To an author, this means engaging your characters in action and let those actions convey the themes and emotions of your work – do not simply narrate your story.
Today, walking on the beach, this rule kept walking through my mind, but not in connection with writing. It occurred to me that this is a rule not only in writing, but in life, too. Apply it to all relationships. Don’t run around telling people what you are going to do and how you are going to act. Just be quiet and show them. It may take more time than telling them, but showing them by the way you live your life, and the way you react to others, is way more effective and certainly more genuine.
And so, as another day goes by, “show don’t tell” is just as good for a life rule as it is for a writing rule, and…I have written.
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