ImmersiveAmbientModecolor: #e7ded7 (color 2)
Video Format : 22 (720p) openh264 ( https://github.com/cisco/openh264) mp4a.40.2 | 44100Hz
Audio Format: Opus - Normalized audio
PokeTubeEncryptID: efa91aecf492841383a7074616937798757c886e50292d665a662cc91ec7cea5bcb6f2670adb6859af0326b427050787
Proxy : usa-proxy.poketube.fun - refresh the page to change the proxy location
Date : 1714265417622 - unknown on Apple WebKit
Mystery text : WUFLY2J2aW94RmsgaSAgbG92ICB1IHVzYS1wcm94eS5wb2tldHViZS5mdW4=
143 : true
3,063,411 Views ⢠Oct 2, 2020 ⢠Click to toggle off description
Writers often have different definitions of âshowingâ and âtelling.â I define âtellingâ as any time in the story when an important moment lacks depth in terms of detail or narrative voice. However, telling can also be an excellent tool for controlling the storyâs pacing and delivering important information.
In this video, Iâll explore the origins of this advice and why âshowingâ appeals to audiences on an emotional level. Using examples from popular works and advice from published authors, Iâll outline six strategies you can employ to produce stronger writing:
1. Use evidence to support your claims.
2. Replace the abstract with the concrete.
3. Substitute vague descriptions with specific sensory details.
4. Avoid relying too much on body language.
5. Show emotion through dialogue.
6. Filter observations through the narrative voice.
You can read a text version of this video on Medium: quotidianwriter.medium.com/how-to-show-not-tell-thâŚ
Love my channel? Treat me to a cup of coffee at ko-fi.com/quotidianwriter.
Behind-the-scenes notes for this video: www.ko-fi.com/post/Behind-the-Scenes-How-to-Show-NâŚ
My Published Stories and Poems: www.quotidianwriter.com/my-writing
Twitter: twitter.com/QuotidianWriter
Title and End Music:
âClockworkâ by Vindsvept -    â˘Â Fantasy Music - Vindsvept - Clockwork Â
Background Music by Vindsvept:
+ âIlluminateâ
+ âThe Faeâ
+ âWildkin Gladeâ
+ âHideawayâ
+ âThe Forgotten Forestâ
+ âLake of Lightâ
+ âWinterâs Dayâ
SOURCES
âThe clues to a great storyâ TED Talk by Andrew Stanton:
www.ted.com/talks/andrew_stanton_the_clues_to_a_grâŚ
âCreative Writing and the New Humanitiesâ by Paul Dawson:
books.google.com/books?id=r2NNKUlOAXUC&printsec=frâŚ
âThe Craft of Fictionâ by Percy Lubbock:
www.gutenberg.org/files/18961/18961-h/18961-h.htm
âNuts and Bolts: âThoughtâ Verbsâ by Chuck Palahniuk:
litreactor.com/essays/chuck-palahniuk/nuts-and-bolâŚ
Novel Writing Help blog by Harvey Chapman:
www.novel-writing-help.com/prose-writing.html#sthaâŚ
âHow Fiction Writers Can Show Emotions in Their Characters in Effective Waysâ by Robin Patchen:
www.livewritethrive.com/2015/06/24/how-fiction-wriâŚ
âShow, Donât Tell: What You Need to Knowâ by Jerry Jenkins:
jerryjenkins.com/show-dont-tell/
Gail Carson Levineâs blog:
gailcarsonlevine.com/blog/2017/02/01/lachrymose-luâŚ
Delilah Dawsonâs Twitter feed:
twitter.com/DelilahSDawson/status/1086657712518299âŚ
Stewie Writes:
www.stewiewrites.com/
More great literary examples on Reedsy:
blog.reedsy.com/show-dont-tell/
âUnderstanding Show, Don't Tell: (And Really Getting It)â by Janice Hardy:
www.amazon.com/dp/B01M0BE4UP/ref=dp-kindle-redirecâŚ
âThe Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expressionâ by Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MTQ7W6Q/ref=x_gr_w_bbâŚ
Introduction (0:00)
The Origins of "Show, Don't Tell" (3:53)
1. Use Evidence to Support Your Claims (5:38)
2. Replace the Abstract with the Concrete (7:20)
3. Substitute Vague Descriptions with Details (10:09)
4. Avoid Relying Too Much on Body Language (12:09)
5. Show Emotion Through Dialogue (15:32)
6. Filter Observations Through the Narrative Voice (17:51)
Summary (21:51)
Writing Exercise (26:00)
Views : 3,063,411
Genre: Education
Date of upload: Oct 2, 2020 ^^
Rating : 4.975 (927/147,549 LTDR)
RYD date created : 2022-04-09T20:13:47.500965Z
See in json
YouTube Comments - 3,272 Comments
Top Comments of this video!! :3
Damn youâre really giving all this gold away for free
5.1K |
âShowing dramatizes and telling summarizesâ is the smartest thing Iâve heard about writing. đđĽ
53 |
this made me open up a word document, then realize after staring at the blank page for a while that i still can't write
4.1K |
âThe forest hummed of the cries of children long dead.â Okay, maybe too eerie.
2.1K |
The hardest thing, imho, is to not overthink it. Too much showing can toss me out of the story when there are way too many fluffy words for describing simple objects. But thousand readers = thousand flavours I guess :)
Great and inspiring video btw, thank you for it
797 |
I just wanted to make a list sooo
âyou gotta show when it's about emotions, opinions and sensations
âuse evidence to show:don't just say this character is kind, what prove that this character is kind?
âdon't use verbs like (thinks-knows-understands-realizes-believes-wants-remembers-imagines)
âdon't say the character feelings directly, describe it so the reader feel it to
âread about body language of different emotions, but don't rely too much on it
âtry engaging different and unique senses
âshow emotions through dialogue
âdon't use too much adverbs
âsometimes it's better to just tell(if it's not that important of a scene)
|writing exercise|
take a paragraph or a scene and try rewrite all the telling to showing
5 |
90% of wattpad aspiring writers need to watch this
13K |
Everyone: here to write a novel.
Me: mmmm fanfiction
5.4K |
I believe that using the telling method in a conveyable way is a skill. These days, I've read a lot of work online where writers believe that being metaphoric or philosophical and describing every emotion too specifically makes their writing look mature. I too believed that earlier. And tbh I've read a few works which were absolutely amazing with this method. Because the plot suited it. Not every plot needs the same writing method. If JK Rowling used that specific method, I wonder how long Harry Potter would have been.
598 |
Funny enough, when I first started writing, I did a lot of the things that were said. I cut my teeth in the fanfiction world, practicing showing concepts and not telling, based upon the books I grew up with and loved (and would lose myself to). I wanted to become a writer that my childhood self would have loved.
Then I got to college creative writing classes in my community college and my professor slammed me for "purple prose" and being "too melodramatic" and that I had to "condense my thoughts"... that showing too much leads to disinterest from readers (he then cited Stephen King as the worst offender of said "overdescriptiveness"). Had another professor in my university days get on my case for using specific adjectives/verbs that had specific connotations saying nobody wanted to read a "SAT Hit Parade piece" and that simple and straightforward is better. Seeing this video is bittersweet, because it tells me... that writing is an art. My writing, nowadays, has become very technical and dry, devoid of emotion... and tells like a narration rather than a story. It makes me want to go back... but it also makes me feel sad that I gave up writing back then, because I felt I didn't have the talent or the skillset for it.
Wish I could go back ten years and tell my younger self to not feel discouraged and want to quit being a writer just because two professors said so. Instead, find a style, craft it, hone it, stick with it, trim the fat, and develop. Wish I could take those ten years back.
114 |
"You don't always need to show"
Tolkien: Hold my pipe.
2.1K |
The simplest way (for me at least) is to read through what I wrote and imagine I'm watching a movie and ask myself: am I seeing/feeling these images myself or there's a voice over/narrator explaining what is happening in the scene. Then my telling will turn to showing
1.7K |
I'm currently ten years old and aspire to be an authour. This video has helped me to really understand show not tell or whatever you want to call it. I truly believe in my dreams and have been told countless times that my talent is incredible or unbelievable but honestly I think I could improve by miles. This video was my first step towards making my dreams become a reality.
1.2K |
One thing I love about stories in books is I always visualize the scene in my head and it's stuck. I probably have a clear view on how the coastline looks like, how the hotel rooms are built, how characters feel things, sometimes it's so well written i even deduce things that weren't even talked about. That's when I know a story can be magnetic and engaging to me, I personally love to feel taken hand by hand to the place so I can see it myself
11 |
I'm afraid of overdoing it, or doing it so wrong that it would be boring
3.9K |
I didn't know why my writing was sounding too melodramatic, until this video show me that I was relying too much on body language. A new window opened to me after this. Thank you so much!
2.2K |
this is a criminally underrated channel. Listened to you when writing my first fiction book. Now contracted to be a TV series. So thanks for making these.
76 |
The issue with a lot of advice when it comes to creative mediums is that itâs all so vague. âShow donât tellâ has always been one of the infamous ones. But this video is perfect. It narrows down what exactly that means, gives examples, and some phrases/hacks for writing it â¤
99 |
@nicewords5377
3 years ago
With a heavy sigh that sounded like the first shift of snow before an avalanche, he clicked out of YouTube and without a word, made his way noiselessly to his writing room. He shut the door and set about a serious edit of his first draft...
5.5K |