“showing” vs. “telling” a.k.a “how to make your writing more interesting”
TRANSCRIPT
“SHOWING”VS.
“TELLING”
a.k.a “How to Make Your
Writing More Interesting”
TELLING
Telling – general; doesn’t show the
reader pictures and images; uses
passive voice, simple sentences, and
forces readers to create their own
“mental picture”…boring!
TELLING
• Example: He gets ready for the race by tying his shoes. Feeling pretty nervous, he examines his shoes. His ankle hurts. He hears the announcer tell the athletes to get ready. After he gets in position, he hears the gun start the race. All his limbs are moving fast and his feet pound on the concrete.
SHOWING
Showing – very specific; full of details
and examples, elaborated as though the
reader were viewing a picture; uses
active voice, sentence variety, figurative
language, and vivid verbs…exciting!
“SHOW ” EXAMPLE
Example: “The muscles in his left leg tense up as he shifts the weight of
his body to one side while kneeling down to tie his right shoe. Cross the
first with the second, pull. Loop across, bring around, pull, braiding
together the frayed gray laces of his Adidas spikes as skillfully as a
seamstress weaves with thread. With the pride of even the fleet –footed
Achilles, the athlete inspects his sacred wings of land attentively as he
quickly brushes off few blades of grass and dirt collected on the instep of
his sneaker. His ankle soon begins to throb with a lack of circulation to
his foot; in fact, the knot of his shoe is so tightly laced that he can hardly
feel his toes suffocating inside his shoe like sardines packed in a can.”
LET’S PRACTICE!
The haunted house was
spooky.
NOW… YOUR TURN!
Each partnership receives a “tell” statement
5 minutes to turn it into a “show” statement• Focus on ONE SINGULAR MOMENT
• AVOID “AM”, “IS”, “ARE”, “WAS”, “WERE”
• USE CONCRETE DETAILS• DEMONSTRATE SENTENCE
VARIETY