Understanding Show, Don't Tell (And Really Getting It)

Understanding Show, Don't Tell (And Really Getting It)

  • Downloads:8270
  • Type:Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date:2021-09-16 08:53:57
  • Update Date:2025-09-06
  • Status:finish
  • Author:Janice Hardy
  • ISBN:0991536436
  • Environment:PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Summary

Do you struggle with show, don't tell? You don't have to。
Award-winning author Janice Hardy (and founder of the popular writing site, Fiction University) takes you deep into one of the most frustrating aspects of writing--showing, and not telling。 She'll help you understand what show, don't tell means, teach you how to spot told prose in your writing, and reveal why common advice on how to fix it doesn't always work。
With in-depth analysis, Understanding Show, Don't Tell (And Really Getting It) looks at what affects told prose and when telling is the right thing to do。 It also explores aspects of writing that aren't technically telling, but are connected to told prose and can make prose feel told, such as infodumps, description, and backstory。
Her easy-to-understand examples will show you clear before and after text and demonstrate how telling words change the prose。 You'll learn how to find the right balance between description, narrative, and internalization for the strongest impact。 These examples will also demonstrate why showing the wrong details can sound just as dull as telling。
This book will help you:
Understand when to tell and when to show Spot common red flag words often found in told prose Learn why one single rule doesn't apply to all books Determine how much telling is acceptable in your writing Fix stale or flat prose holding your writing back Understanding Show, Don't Tell (And Really Getting It) is more than just advice on what to do and what not to do-it's a down and dirty examination and analysis of how show, don't tell works, so you can adapt the "rules" to whatever style or genre you're writing。 By the end of this book, you'll have a solid understanding of show, don't tell and the ability to use it without fear or frustration。

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Reviews

Shane Scott

This is a must read for any author。

Adrienne

Excellent advice for newbie writers like myself!I appreciate the examples and thorough explanations for showing vs telling in writing。 You can immediately apply the steps outlined in this book。

Sydney Young

It’s an excellent little book on something that baffles many writers。 Helped me figure out what I was doing。 I’ll keep it around for reference。

S。J。

A real ‘Must Have’ for those starting out, continuing, or just wanting to improve their writing。 ‘Understanding Show, Don’t Tell (And Really Getting It)’ really DOES help you understand the minefield that is ‘Show Don’t Tell’ in story writing。 I find this particular part of the craft difficult and I have found myself on many occasions scrapping what I’ve written and starting again。 Janice Hardy gives you a guide of ‘Common Red Flag Words’ which is an absolute stroke of genius。 I WILL be re-readi A real ‘Must Have’ for those starting out, continuing, or just wanting to improve their writing。 ‘Understanding Show, Don’t Tell (And Really Getting It)’ really DOES help you understand the minefield that is ‘Show Don’t Tell’ in story writing。 I find this particular part of the craft difficult and I have found myself on many occasions scrapping what I’ve written and starting again。 Janice Hardy gives you a guide of ‘Common Red Flag Words’ which is an absolute stroke of genius。 I WILL be re-reading this book for continued help, tips, and guidance when writing my stories。 The book has an easy to follow structure, with a well laid out contents page。 It seems impossible for a ‘Good’ instructional book to be only 125 pages long, but Janice Hardy really does cover what you need to know about ‘Show Don’t Tell’ in this small, compact book。 I will be recommending this book to my writer’s group and anyone else who is interested in writing。 I would recommend this book to anyone who is studying Creative Writing, and those looking at any career to do with writing。 I would also recommend this book to any Writer’s Group。 。。。more

Athreya Bhupathi

3。5 for now

AgustinaGar_

This book was very useful and explained everything in a way that was easy to understand with examples that demonstrated perfectly the different contents and topics。

Mindythebookyenta

Wish I'd read this book before I ever wrote my first sentence。 Thank you, Janice! Wish I'd read this book before I ever wrote my first sentence。 Thank you, Janice! 。。。more

Federico Platzman

One of the best books I've read on writing。This should be every writer's bible。A triumph。 One of the best books I've read on writing。This should be every writer's bible。A triumph。 。。。more

Sabetha

This is a must read book on writing, zero fluff, straight to the point, with examples。 The author walks you through telling and showing in about every way possible, plus circles back to when it okay。 I loved the easy to understand format that she puts each chapter into, and can already tell that it will make it easy to reference in the future。At the end of the book she includes a one page quick reference guide, which I was hoping for throughout reading。 Reading this book made constructing engagi This is a must read book on writing, zero fluff, straight to the point, with examples。 The author walks you through telling and showing in about every way possible, plus circles back to when it okay。 I loved the easy to understand format that she puts each chapter into, and can already tell that it will make it easy to reference in the future。At the end of the book she includes a one page quick reference guide, which I was hoping for throughout reading。 Reading this book made constructing engaging sentences make more sense。 Even if you think you are great at showing instead of telling, give it a read, it will be worth the few hours。 。。。more

Goodreads and ME

Wonderful resource。 A Must Have for your writing reference library。

Megan Byrd

A very in-depth and thorough book about showing versus telling in writing。 There are many examples shown with before and after fixes which were quite helpful。 I feel inspired to tackle my manuscript with newly educated eyes with the hope of creating a more engaging version of the story。

Jörg

This writing craft book is the best so far I’ve read and the easiest to understand。 Everyone tells you when writing, you must show don’t tell。 So what exactly does that mean? Well this book goes into great detail to answer this question。 There are lots of examples of told text and how to change it to shown text。 A must have read for all those learning to write like a professional。 5 stars from me。

Hayley L。 Morgan

REally great! lots of explanations and examples and really easy to understand

Lynn Keith

Beyond helpfulThis book really helps you understand how the words you pick can change how your story is read。 So informative!

Nancy Kuykendall

This book is full of useful information and many examples。 It was hard to wade through as there was a lot to absorb。 It’s written in such a way you can go back and use it somewhat like a textbook。 It’s very thorough。 The author went to a lot a work to help solve the issue of show, don’t tell。

Lynne Lanning

Very helpful on my writing journey。 Will keep it close for reference。

Zachary

This was good at really hammering home what "show, don't tell" looks like in writing。 It was a bit tedious and repetitive at times, but that's not necessarily a bad thing。 This was good at really hammering home what "show, don't tell" looks like in writing。 It was a bit tedious and repetitive at times, but that's not necessarily a bad thing。 。。。more

Davy Kent

An excellent craft book that I would highly recommend to any developmental or line editor, as well as any author。 While sometimes I feel Hardy is too severe, and perhaps too attached to "red flag words," the information inside this book should be considered essential to anyone who feels their prose can be improved on。 An excellent craft book that I would highly recommend to any developmental or line editor, as well as any author。 While sometimes I feel Hardy is too severe, and perhaps too attached to "red flag words," the information inside this book should be considered essential to anyone who feels their prose can be improved on。 。。。more

Olivia Qin

Understated UnderstandingSo much help。 Like a dang lightbulb went off。 Boom。 It clicked。 Like, duh how could I not see that before。 And then taking the knowledge to my manuscript。。。 I kinda like my manuscript before, but now。。。its the same story only, was it a book I just read or did I actually watch? A thousand Thank You’s!

Spiffybumble

Understanding Show, Don’t Tell (And really Getting it): ?/10By: Janice HardytAs someone who considers themself a novice writer, I don’t have a strong opinion as to whether or not this book is excellent or not, mostly because I myself am not an excellent writer and I need to implement this advice over another subsequent hundred hours of editing or so before I know whether or not it had a tangible improvement on my writing。 I can say, however, that this book opened my eyes to how I write poorly an Understanding Show, Don’t Tell (And really Getting it): ?/10By: Janice HardytAs someone who considers themself a novice writer, I don’t have a strong opinion as to whether or not this book is excellent or not, mostly because I myself am not an excellent writer and I need to implement this advice over another subsequent hundred hours of editing or so before I know whether or not it had a tangible improvement on my writing。 I can say, however, that this book opened my eyes to how I write poorly and how I can better improve it through grueling grueling work。 I think, more than anything else, that’s what makes me trust Hardy’s advice so much。 This isn’t a quick-fix, this book is a college lecture, and I had my notebook out next to me as I read through it, rephrasing things and taking notes along the way。 It’s going to be many hours more before I’ve finally implemented the things I learned in this book in an actual manuscript, but I think that they’re going to be hours well-spent。 Show, don’t tell, is a muscle that I need to work out, and this book showed me what equipment to use and how to use it。Now it’s time to see if it works or not! 。。。more

Tragedies

For now I have to say that most of the information was not new to me and didn't necessarily clear up any confusion one might have on the topic because it pretty much all depends on what you want to convey as the writer。Compared to the other books I've read on writing (although I may have just been lucky there) it also seemed rather boring and dry。However there was quite a lot of detailed information about words and phrases to look out for, which should be quite useful for editing。I will definite For now I have to say that most of the information was not new to me and didn't necessarily clear up any confusion one might have on the topic because it pretty much all depends on what you want to convey as the writer。Compared to the other books I've read on writing (although I may have just been lucky there) it also seemed rather boring and dry。However there was quite a lot of detailed information about words and phrases to look out for, which should be quite useful for editing。I will definitely have another look at this once I'm starting my editing process and change my rating + review accordingly。 。。。more

Peter A

“Show, don’t tell is one of the most frustrating pieces of writing advice out there。 It’s ambiguous, it changes depending on who you ask, and most of the time, no one tells you how to put that advice into practice。”The author’s own words summarize the challenge to aspiring writers of using this advice。 Her book’s aim is to provide understand and practical advice to help an author improve her/his writing。 The author spends the first part of the book talking about what “show, don’t tell” advice me “Show, don’t tell is one of the most frustrating pieces of writing advice out there。 It’s ambiguous, it changes depending on who you ask, and most of the time, no one tells you how to put that advice into practice。”The author’s own words summarize the challenge to aspiring writers of using this advice。 Her book’s aim is to provide understand and practical advice to help an author improve her/his writing。 The author spends the first part of the book talking about what “show, don’t tell” advice means, why it is important, why it might not always be appropriate, and how context (e。g。, point of view of the narration) can change the implementation。 The second part is about concrete examples。The author also provides practical guides for where to look in one’s manuscript for improvement。 Seh finishes the book with a quick-check list of red flag words for easy manuscript review, red flags she has described in the book。As with any skill, one gets better with practice。 The author makes this point。 But with this book the beginning writer at least knows where to look, and has an understanding of what is possible。I heard of this book on the YouTube video “How to Show, No Tell: Quotidian Writer,” by Diane Callahan, at https://www。youtube。com/watch?v=YAKcb。。。Also, for more writing advice from the author see Fiction University, http://blog。janicehardy。com/。 FB: A practical guide to understand “show, don’t tell” in writing and to put that advice to use。 。。。more

Robert

Very helpful and educationalIf you are having trouble with telling instead of showing then I highly recommend this book。 I've read other books on show vs tell and found them to be lacking。 They gave me ideas on what to look for, but didn't really give me much more。 This book gave great examples and key words to look for when determining how you are writing。 I understand show vs tell so much better after reading this。 Very helpful and educationalIf you are having trouble with telling instead of showing then I highly recommend this book。 I've read other books on show vs tell and found them to be lacking。 They gave me ideas on what to look for, but didn't really give me much more。 This book gave great examples and key words to look for when determining how you are writing。 I understand show vs tell so much better after reading this。 。。。more

Mark McCallum

All the foundational stuffA show not tell smorgasbord。 This intro opened my eyes to many weaknesses in my writing。 After reading this you will be a more critical reader and accomplished writer。

Michelle Tang

One of the most interesting, helpful craft books I have read。 I appreciate the clear explanations and the examples (which is how I learn best)。

Mike Kanner

A good handbook and reference for writers that want to improve their writing。 It explains the difference between 'showing' and 'telling' using the same passage written as 'telling' and then on 'showing。' Hardy then gives you both general and specific ways to identify which of the two you are doing。 The last chapter on fixing lists the flags to look for when editing。 A good handbook and reference for writers that want to improve their writing。 It explains the difference between 'showing' and 'telling' using the same passage written as 'telling' and then on 'showing。' Hardy then gives you both general and specific ways to identify which of the two you are doing。 The last chapter on fixing lists the flags to look for when editing。 。。。more

Danét Palmer

Loved this in-depth look into the dilemma we face as writers — show don’t tell。 Most of what we hear and read is elusive at best。 Janis informs, details and give examples that make it understandable and provide a specific way to utilize this precious gift。 Thank you

Carol Schaal

Superb。 Especially helpful when editing the first draft。 Good tips and written in an easy-to-understand style。

James Walter Lee

Very Helpful!Janice Hardy takes us through an in-depth look at showing versus telling。 Every writer who wishes to elevate their craft should definitely take a look at this book。

Pamela Harstad

Helpful skillsJanice directs writing to show you where you are telling in several ways。 The examples of showing with words to watch as red flags helps。