By Samantha Marshall
Whether you’re an aspiring writer finding your feet, an emerging author with a couple of books under your belt or an established author with a career spanning years, chances are you’ve heard the phrase ‘Show, Don’t Tell.’
Perhaps you’ve submitted a manuscript for either assessment or editing, and received feedback highlighting elements of telling in your writing, with the request to show instead. Or maybe you attended a talk with an author you admire, and they encourage their audience to show instead of tell wherever possible. You may even have come across the advice in craft books, blog posts, articles or workshops.
But… when someone says ‘show, don’t tell,’ what do they actually mean?
During the Secrets of Show, Don’t Tell, we’re going to answer that question. We’ll explore the concepts of both telling and showing, and learn how to recognise them in your own work. I’ll share with you a number of different ways you can up-level your telling by turning it into showing, regardless of what genre, perspective or style of writing you use. We’ll cover ways to deepen your connection to your readers, enhance atmosphere in your work and develop your characters’ voices – all through the up-levelling process. We’ll discuss how showing can be used to either expand and enrich scenes and dialogue, or how it can be used to convey maximum effect with as few words as possible.
Once that’s done, we’ll move through how showing and telling function as part of your editing process, and the sometimes daunting topic of deep point of view. I’ll share with you my own, personal processes regarding showing versus telling when it comes to in my manuscripts, and then break down ways you can adapt these processes to suit your own writing style and preferences.
This will be a supported journey, with me beside you every step of the way. I’ll provide both written and video content, and will be available for you to contact for assistance or encouragement whenever you need it! I highly encourage questions and discussion, and will offer examples and exercises that will help you not only learn about showing and telling in the short term, but are simple enough to be repeated long term, when you need a refresher on the topic. There will also be bonus videos each week where, if you so choose, you can watch me tackle the same exercises I set for you!
The Secrets of Show, Don’t Tell is a course that’s suitable for everyone, no matter where you are in your author’s journey. We’ll have a laugh and share some quality time together (cue cheesy smile) as I’m a big believer in the concept that learning should be fun!
Hopefully I’ll see you there.
Cheers,
Sammy
Xoxo
The Secrets of Show, Don’t Tell – Short Course
Do you find the adage ‘show, don’t tell’ a complete mystery? It doesn’t have to be! In this course, we’ll explore the concept of both showing and telling, and where they fit into your writing process.
Learn to isolate telling in a piece of work, and develop some tools to uplevel your showing, thereby increasing tension, enhancing atmosphere and deepening that all-important connection to the reader.
Booking Link: https://www.trybooking.com/BWZCG
Pre-course preparation
A smile and a willingness to learn new things
Course Type
Craft
Hours of Commitment
5-10 hours
Presenters Bio
Award winning and nominated author Samantha Marshall writes romance – as long as it’s got paranormal creatures, space odyssey features or anything in between she’ll be there writing happily ever afters to rule them all. When she’s not hiding in her dragon cave eating chocolate ice cream, Samantha can be found at www.sliceofsammy.com