Showing Vs. Telling

Ah, the age old rule- show, don't tell! This used to frustrate me so much. I wondered what exactly showing is. No one seemed able to explain it! Anyway, it looks like I eventually figured it out, because people are constantly complimenting me on my descriptive voice. So, I thought I'd post what method I use.

I tend to just write something first. Whatever comes out. And then I go back over it with a lice-comb. :-) Any words that cater to our senses- sight, sound, touch, taste, smell -seem to be applicable as "showing". It pulls the readers into the writing, I think, which is essentially what we're going for.

Also, metaphors work wonders. If you don't want to actually put metaphors into your writing, thinking in metaphors does help. Know what you want to describe, and then dig for the words that describe it. For example- blue eyes. Why just say they're blue? Are they icy and sharp? Deep, ocean blue and soul-bearing? Saying "Her blue eyes shone." is pretty straightforward. But it's also unimaginative. That counts as telling...right? Instead, I think like this: "The blue of the oceans filled her eyes, starry lights shimmering intensely beneath their surface." It just sounds better, doesn't it? Yep. I think so. :-)

Anyway, that's about all I have to say- cater to the sense. And any words that are picturesque and specific seem to apply to "showing".

Now, your turn! How would you explain showing vs. telling? And how do you keep from telling?

A Place To Write

Where do you write? Do you get better results in certain areas?

I've heard that many authors have certain areas that they go to write, where their creative juices flow the best. Personally, I usually find myself sprawled out on a blanket in the backyard under a sun-umbrella and listening to whatever music catches my interest at the time. But, when I have the bus fair *sniggers*, I enjoy sitting in a corner of a nearby coffee/gelato shop. It's peaceful, and all the smells and sounds somehow keep my creativity flowing. Not to mention the people are fun to watch, and great for ideas.

During the school year, I haunt the third floor of the science building at the local college. There are little tables squished into niches and alcoves along a hallway there. It's quiet, and very very peaceful. In general, I find it to be a good place to write- and they provide plugs for the ever-dying laptop! :-)

I'm curious to know, though. If anyone reads this blog- where do you write, and why?

The Mary-Sue Test

http://www.springhole.net/quizzes/marysue.htm#Part4

If nothing else, this is a fun bit of procrastination. It may also give some insight into characters. :-)

Bottom Drawer Books

Well, my current "work-in-progress", Kissed By Gods, is about to become a bottom drawer book. All inspiration seems to have been sucked out of me, and I realize that, though I have a strong beginning and end, I have absolutely no middle. So, I'm setting it aside to work on later.

In the mean time, I need to continue on the final read-over-and-touch-up copy of A Mask of Beauty. And I've got some interesting story ideas...primarily one for something set in ancient Egypt. So maybe I'll start on those.

Don't you hate it, though, when the muse just seems to...lose interest? And then where do you go? Without inspiration, how can we write? It's a problem we all have, I'm sure. And while I don't believe in writer's block- I believe that we work ourselves into a frenzy of unwritability -I guess it's a similiar problem.

It's always kind of amazing, though, the things we find that were put aside as bottom drawer books. Occasionally, there's something really great in there.

So, to all of you who I presume aren't reading a word I'm posting, keep writing. :-)

Action!

ac·tion -noun. the process or state of acting or of being active

It seems to be general knowledge that every story MUST include a good bit of action. But neither I nor many fellow writers I am acquainted with are very good at writing action sequences. In my opinion, this stems from our habit of hiding away in dimly-lit places, typing away for hours on end. We don't DO a lot of action. Writers sit. Right? Right.

So how are we expected to write action? *sweat* With a LOT of work, it would seem.

If it's not done correctly, we end up with stage directions instead of a good fight. You've all read them: 'John swung. Bob ducked and stepped back. John rushed forward.' It reads very boring and tiresome, doesn't it? Anyone could see that. But an ongoing problem is how to FIX it!

I recently came up with a list of words that may be found in an action-y, kick-butt scene. Somehow, it helps me while writing these scenes to be able to have interesting vocabulary and better descriptions.

A: assail, aim
B: bang, batter(ed), blow, barge, bash, break, beat
C: claw, cut, catch, charge, chase
D: draw, dive, dart, dodge, dash, die, duck, duff up
E: edge, egg on
F: flinch, fly, fling, fall, face, flail, fend off, fire, flip, flog, freeze
G: grab, grapple, groan, grasp, growl, grate
H: hit, hoist, hack, hang, hold, hook, hunt
I:
J: jump, joust, jab, jar
K: kill, kick, keel, knock
L: leap, lunge, lash, latch, lay
M: move, meet, mount
N: nail
O:
P: pull, pick up, punch, prowl, pelt
Q: quiver
R: reign, rain, run, rise, race
S: sting, sit, side-step, skip, spring, sprint, spatter, shoot, smash, stab, slap, slam, swing, slump
T: turn, twist, tumble
U:
V: volley
W: whip, whirl

Anyone know any that I've missed?

Character Motivation

I recently read that there are eight types of character motivation. All actions can be catagorized into one of these motivation types. They are:

- Greed
- Love
- Duty
- Revenge
- Curiosity
- Self-Preservation
- Self-Discovery
- Boredom

I was really glad to find this. It's been a great help to me, when trying to figure out WHY a character does something. If you know that every action needs a motivation, it's great to know what those possible catagories of motivation are. I went through my manuscript, sticky-noting motivation types for major actions. It cleared up a lot of discrepancies and such that I'd had.

These types of motivation are a great tool to have around. Mine are sticky-noted to my monitor. :-)