Writing A Story, The “Show Don’t Tell” Way
Anyone who has ever wanted to write or tried writing has probably heard the advice, “Show Don’t Tell.” The “Show Don’t Tell” advice is probably the type of advice which can always be heard by all of the writers no matter how long they have been writing. Even those who aren’t writing may have probably heard about the said advice, however, they do not really know what it means in writing.
If you happen to tell something to people, we would opt to summarize it. Just like saying “I bought a new bed today.” When we show, we go into detail. In showing the details to the person you are talking, you would probably explain why you bought a new bed, probably based on the mattress that is sagging or the headboard that is weak already. Apart from the reason why you bought a new bed, you may have probably explained how you went to different mattress stores just to choose the best one after you have compared them by lying down on it. You would even explain how you compare the different prices of beds and mattresses and how the salesman helped you in choosing the best one that you have bought. Relating how your bed was delivered to your home will also be explained. Also, the excitement that you felt as you sleep at in your new bed right after you bought it will also be conveyed to the person that you are talking to. Buying a new bed does not sound exciting, but it can become a humorous and even adventurous story if we do a good job of showing instead of telling.
Whether the story that is being written is fiction or non-fiction, the showmanship of telling the story should always be creative. In both cases, we need to show rather than just tell to create an effective story. Non-fiction requires great storytelling just as much as fiction because stories are what readers will relate to so they are able to apply your information to their lives.
A non-fiction story is usually achieved with the help of self-help style. However, there are lots of non-fiction stories which require more about the storytelling, stories such as history or biography of a person. It is advisable to tell a good story, since most of us would love to hear it.
Another example is writing a self-help book. The most important point in this type of story is how you should convey to the people that you are interested in helping them and how you wanted to listen to them.