And then......

Sometimes, I feel like I'm constantly telling.

There might be times when telling is better than
showing... **

We're always taught to show, not tell.  And, having been a self-proclaimed writer for approximately one year now, as well as loving the art my entire life... I should probably have learned my lesson by now.

But of course, I haven't.

Otherwise, I wouldn't be telling you about it.

One way to figure out if I'm starting to tell more than show, is to look for simple verbs that are alone.  Verbs like 'smiled' or 'scowled'.  True, these words show to a certain degree, but they could be expanded upon.  There are many different types of smiles.

How did he/she smile?  Was his face stern at first, yet as the moment sunk in did his lips gently curl into a grin?  Or did her weary eyes meet yours as she shook her head, a pleading smile lifting the corners of her mouth?

See, these are the things I have so much trouble with.

And when you've used 'smiled' alone, exactly 156 times throughout your MS (yeah, that would be me)... it really becomes a telling word.

Another word that usually means you're telling is when you see 'and then'.  Luckily, 'and then' is a phrase I can usually avoid, but I thought I'd bring it up since it's the title of the post.

Do you guys find yourself telling a lot?  Or, at least, do you think you tell a lot?


**Times when telling is better than showing: EXAMPLE:  If you've got a giant cut on your arm, and you're bleeding more than just a little bit, I'd much rather you call and tell me about it from the hospital instead of showing me.  (I get queasy around blood.)


Have a wonderful day!

--Jess

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Yesterday, I joined Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group, so I'm pretty excited! The idea is to post on the first Wednesday of every month, so here I go!

Last week, I was feeling down. I was in the dead center of editing the last bit of my story, when the idea hit me: what if all of this work is for nothing?


To me, my writing sounded dead. Page after page, everything I'd written sounded wrong. I started to think, 'my writing isn't like Patrick Carman's or Rick Riordan's, so what does that make me?' and 'am I actually a good writer, or do I just think I am?' To make things worse, I couldn't actually find anything wrong with what I had written. I just felt that somehow, in some way, it wasn't good enough.


I was tempted to open a blank Word Document and write 'hopeless' over and over until the answer finally came to me. (I didn't do that, of course.) I kept reading, but my doubts wouldn't leave me alone. Could all of the precious time and effort I've put into my work be a waste? Could all of this really be worth it?


Luckily, my mom kind of noticed that I was a little frustrated, so she told me to go play my violin for a while and take a break from editing. Playing my violin usually helps me cool down if things go wrong, so I took her advice and played. And I got to thinking.


I'm not writing because I want to be published. I mean, I do want to be published, but that's not really what it's about. It's about me. I'm writing because I love it. And if I wrote like Rick Riordan or Patrick Carman, then what on earth would I have to write about?


Sometimes it's hard for me to recognize my own strengths. When I'm editing, I'm looking for everything wrong with what I'm doing. And that's okay, but it makes it hard to appreciate what I'm doing right.


So, advice?


Take breaks when you need them! And if you write because you love it, then don't let silly doubts make you want to stop!


Have you guys ever felt that way? How do/did you guys overcome?


--Jess