In today’s episode, I’m sharing what the advice to “show, don’t tell” really means (and spoiler alert: it’s probably not what you think!). We’ll also talk about how to reveal your character’s emotions on the page, too. Here’s a preview of what’s included:
[01:20] In general, the advice to “show, don’t tell” means that a writer should relate information to readers through sensory details and actions rather than exposition.
[03:39] But there’s more to it than that. To me, “show, don’t tell,” means that you need to show your character’s emotional reaction to what’s happening in a scene—and there are three main ways to do this.
[03:56] Method #1: You can tell readers what your character is feeling.
[04:35] Method #2: You can show emotions via body language or physical tells.
[06:14] Method #3: You can show readers what your character is thinking in response to what’s happening in a scene.
[12:15] Final thoughts and episode recap.
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