Do you remember the excitement of Show and Tell In your grade school classes? It was thrilling to share your favorite objects and possessions with your classmates. And it was so much more fulfilling than merely saying you had “something”. You shared by showing them, maybe letting them touch it, listen to it – you let them experience it with you.
Get that excitement back in your writing – share the things you put into your story with your readers. Don’t rely on just telling them what someone is feeling or what the weather is. Show them the actions and reactions of a man who is mad or happy. Share the feelings of the sun shining on your heroine’s shoulders, help your readers feel how warm it is.
Don’t say Sam was angry. Tell everyone that Sam yelled, he slammed doors, he frowned.
Sam plopped into the chair behind his desk. He slammed the drawer shut and picked up the pen lying on the blotter. The pen rolled between his fingers until he snapped it. He huffed. The phone rang and Sam stared at it. Finally he grabbed the receiver and barked into it, “What the hell do you want?”
Did you feel the anger? How about this…
Sam eased into the chair behind his desk. He sighed contentedly before opening the drawer to choose a pen. Tapping the pen against the paper he tried to keep his mind on his work rather than her luscious curves. He looked forward to lunchtime and hopefully seeing her again. His phone rang, he knew that it was her. He was smiling as he said “Hello”.
What kind of emotion did you feel from Sam this time? Did he seem happy? Did I ever say Sam was happy? So how did you know?
Think of the last time you were in a completely comfortable place, possibly you were lying on a beach with the sun warming you… What did you feel? Did you feel the warmth of the sun? Did the gentle breeze cool your body? Try and describe it, remember to show and not just tell your readers about the setting, the temperature, the sounds and smells. Bring them into the scene and let them feel it along with your character.
Close your eyes and describe where you are from your actual viewpoint at that moment. Don’t rely n your memory to say where the doors or windows are, or what color the room is. What do you smell? What do you hear? What do you feel? Is the chair you are sitting on plush or hard? Can you curl your toes in carpeting? These are the ways to describe your setting. Don’t bother with the color of the room unless it lends itself to the mood like a the white room seemed sterile or the yellow walls seemed dingy. Describe things visually only when it is pertinent to the elements of the story.
Writing Exercise: Think of a special smell that evokes a memory. It could be the smell of your grandmother’s fresh baked cookies or the smell of a freshly mowed lawn. Concentrate on that smell and write a paragraph about where that smell “takes you”. Describe it so that your reader can “go there” with you.
Writing Prompt: List ten objects near you right now. Choose a few words, not just visual, to describe those items.
