- Thread starter
- #21
By the way, did you like the scene?
I did like the scene.
I didn't want to conflate what I saw as two different uses of the word. I did want to show readers that Chat Noir felt sad, but on the actual tactical level there was a lot of telling involved in doing so.
bingo.
And this is exactly where the "show, don't tell" advice gets tripped up. What I've seen is that a writer (usually newer writer) on forums will get his or her hands on this advice and go crazy with it. Someone will post something like the snippet you posted above and ask for a critique.
The new writer, all armed in his "show don't tell knowledge" will start highlighting sentences left, right, and centre saying "this is telling. Show this instead," without any thought to the bigger picture. Without asking what the point of the scene was. Without considering what the goal of the writer was for that scene.
In my mind, Show and tell have to do with the big picture stuff. The structure of the scene. The point of the scene. The larger, over arching goals of the scene. Not the tiny incidental lines. HOW you show that goal is up to you. You may "tell it" lol. But you are still showing what you need to show.
I think it is this double meanings of the words that confuses people.
Last edited: