I recently received a rejection letter from a submission I had made. The critic explained that they thought the story was suspenseful but that I have the tendency to tell rather than show. I'm not really sure what this means, does anyone have any advice on showing rather than telling? Thanks in advance.
Thanks Liz, that has been very helpful. :)
It looks like you have some good advice here.
Im an illustrator, so bear with me as I put in my two cents.
When Im illustrating a portion of writing I look for the parts that do not have overly explained action. That is for the reader to figure out and to imagine. I try to find the simpler parts. of emotion /feeling /mood that build to the action. Example. " A strong breeze moved her hair in her face." or "The crisp air made her hair dance about her face". There is more poetry/ human feeling that builds up in the second. It just takes time to go back and re - analyze how we are presenting the written word. Which is frustrating, cause its time, and it takes more time. In the end it will be worth it.
Hope that helps, also remember the rejection shows us the next steps to take on our creative journey. Embrace it, learn from it and keep moving forward.
Liz Cleaves
Bryan,
Better to give a link to the site. The clue is that line you copied which says "Copyright by Shirley Jump." Shirley may have other wonderful advice and your cut-and-paste denies us the opportunity to read it without hunting for it.
I think "Show Don't Tell" is one of those enormously over-used phrases. It frequently gets taken to extremes and makes a story hard to follow. All things in moderation. You can tell, as long as there's enough showing to engage the reader.
The classic example of someone taking Show Don't Tell too seriously is the recap scene. Someone arrives somewhere and is told something which sets the scene for the reader. If this begins with some leader-type saying, "As you know..." then you're taking Show Don't Tell too far. Can be got around, but too often isn't.