Creative Writing - Show, Don't Tell

Many beginning writers make the mistake of telling, rather than showing, their stories. Here are some examples of how to show instead of tell.

For beginning creative writers, it's easy to tell a story. It sometimes takes more practice learning how to show readers what's happening. Think of telling as what one does when writing an essay-it's informative, but it's a technique that doesn't fully engage the reader with all his senses. Showing presents the reader with imagery and a full sensory experience. Readers become fully immersed in the story when they are shown instead of told.

Use Imagery to Evoke Pictures in the Reader's Mind

One thing a creative writer will want to do is show his readers what he sees. He doesn't need to show them every little detail, but what is described needs to evoke what is necessary to the scene. The situation needs to somehow feel real to the reader.
Here is an example of telling:

The girl thought she heard a sound. She looked down the hall, though, and it was nothing. It must have been her imagination.
All the reader "sees" here is a girl and a hall. There's not much else to picture.
Here is the same passage, rewritten to show instead of tell:
Marcie's ears seemed to stretch toward the slight shuffling and scraping down the dark hall. Her teeth clenched, and she turned her head toward the noise.

The reader can see more in this rewritten passage because the writer has presented images that the reader can see in her mind. The writer must give the reader images-he must show what's happening. Strong nouns and verbs can help with this task. The word thought doesn't necessarily conjure up an image, but the phrase "ears seemed to stretch" does.

Fully Engage All the Senses to Absorb the Reader

When a beginning imaginative writer does start noticing how imagery can shift a piece of writing from academic and technical to creative, he will often only engage the sense of sight. It's sometimes simpler to describe the way something looks, but engaging all the senses will pull in the reader all the way.
So how can a writer engage one's sense of sound, for example? He can start by describing what a character hears. In the above example, "shuffling and scraping" indicate something a person can hear (as well as see). Evoking sound can be even simpler than that. Saying that a country song was playing in the background, describing the clack of the cue ball hitting the others, or hearing the doorbell are all small ways a writer can involve sound in his work.
Other senses are also important, though. Smell matters, and it doesn't have to be complicated. Saying a character smelled the freshly-cut lawn, for example, or writing about the smell of cooked onions in the kitchen are enough for a reader to understand.
Touch and even taste can also help a reader engage in a story. A writer can invoke touch simply by saying a character is wearing an angora sweater (or wool, cotton, or polyester, because each fabric feels different). What about the feel of sand under one's feet? Writing that a character is eating a hot dog slathered in mustard will engage a reader's sense of taste, just as describing vanilla ice cream dripping with chocolate syrup.

Showing Readers Makes for Effective Creative Writing

The best way to absorb one's readers-whether one is writing a poem or a short story-is by showing instead of telling. Shifting one's writing from a telling perspective to a showing one can be simple if a writer uses imagery and engages all the reader's senses.

Related articles:
Getting Excited About Creative Writing
Routines and Location Can Help Creative Writers

Tips and tricks for creative writer

• Do some short exercises to stretch your writing muscles – if you’re short of ideas, read the Daily Writing Tips article on “Writing Bursts”. Many new creative writers find that doing the washing up or weeding the garden suddenly looks appealing, compared to the effort of sitting down and putting words onto the page. Force yourself to get through these early doubts, and it really will get easier. Try to get into the habit of writing every day, even if it’s just for ten minutes.
• If you’re stuck for ideas, carry a notebook everywhere and write down your observations. You’ll get some great lines of dialogue by keeping your ears open on the bus or in cafes, and an unusual phrase may be prompted by something you see or smell.
• Work out the time of day when you’re at your most creative. For many writers, this is first thing in the morning – before all the demands of the day jostle for attention. Others write well late at night, after the rest of the family have gone to bed. Don’t be afraid to experiment!
• Don’t agonize over getting it right. All writers have to revise and edit their work – it’s rare that a story, scene or even a sentence comes out perfectly the first time. Once you’ve completed the initial draft, leave the piece for a few days – then come back to it fresh, with a red pen in hand. If you know there are problems with your story but can’t pinpoint them, ask a fellow writer to read through it and give feedback.
• HAVE FUN! Sometimes, we writers can end up feeling that our writing is a chore, something that “must” be done, or something to procrastinate over for as long as possible. If your plot seems wildly far-fetched, your characters bore you to tears and you’re convinced that a five-year old with a crayon could write better prose … take a break. Start a completely new project, something which is purely for fun. Write a poem or a 60-word “mini saga”. Just completing a small finished piece can help if you’re bogged down in a longer story.

............The Definition Of Creative Writing........

What is the definition of creative writing?
The art of creative writing is one that encompasses many different areas. Novels, screenplays, poems, even nonfiction books can fit under this genre. Textbooks, journalism, academic papers and technical writing are examples that do not fit the category. A nonfiction book can be creative, even if it is based on fact rather than storytelling. The majority of writing is creative in nature. There are some people who feel drawn to the craft of writing and/or have a gift for it that manifested at a young age. If you're not a natural talent, imagination can be tapped and various techniques can be learned.
Who should take part in creative writing?
Anybody, really. Teenagers can benefit from writing as an outlet for their erratic passing moods. A journal can become like a friend, and allow the teen to pour out his or her soul with no fear of being punished or laughed at. Teen creative writing is another way members of this age group can express themselves. A writer of any age can get caught up in the story they are weaving and find joy in the process of creating. Often teens who excel in this area go on to become authors of some sort when they reach adulthood. The most important thing is the desire to write. The desire to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, cannot be manipulated. The writer must genuinely want to write in order to be successful, otherwise it is close to impossible to do their best work. For the writer that has a burning desire to be nothing else but a writer, there are many opportunities. Some you may know about, some you may not.
Can I make a living at it?
Creative writing can be for fun, which is a great way to start and get feedback on your work. There are all kinds of online fiction sites that welcome submissions from authors. In many cases, the pay is zero. But, if a creative writer is able to break into the magazine market, write a fiction or nonfiction book that does well or sell a screenplay they've written, it is entirely possible writing could become a lucrative career. Writers' Market is both a website and book updated annually that lists all publishers and agents for all areas of writing, a must-have for any aspiring author.
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