I figured out the perfect advice for new writers

[madelinemasoch]

A lot of people have said, "show, don't tell" when it comes to writing. One way to fix the summarized style of writing that I mentioned in a prior thread would probably be to write in screenplay or stage script formats instead of narratives. This is because in a script, you're forced to show us details and not tell us on the page. This removes the crutch.

I just read a story on here where it just says "We had a kid." in the middle of a paragraph. They tell us in four words what we could've discerned from a scene. Paradoxically, this is the opposite of skill, in my view. There's no immersion. If it was written as a script, they would've been forced to show us the kid, the fact that it's their kid, and so on. The story would be deeper.

Infamously, in the Game of Thrones original pilot episode, the writers forgot to show the audience that Jaime and Cersei are twin siblings. They thought a note in the script would be enough (they're not trained screenwriters, just novelists). But the audience can't see a note in a script. They have dialogue and stage business instead. This is the art of scripting: showing instead of telling is baked into the art form.

I wrote two stage plays during the last school year. I think it helped my writing a lot.

 

[AchtungNight]

Another good way to “show, don’t tell” is write fanfic stories. You can weave inside information and jokes into your story to make it more entertaining and believable for fans. Example- the fact that Erika Christensen is a Scientologist may bother people and make them think she’s uncomfortable with gay people the way some followers of that religion are. If you write a fanfic where the character based on her expresses the fact that she’s kissed other women on screen, supported her brother when he played a gay teenager, and has had no issues working with other actresses who are famously out and proud LBGT (Evan Rachel Wood is an example), in contrast to other Scientologist actors… you can build fan acceptance of the real Erika (who did actually do all the above things) and make your fictional portrayal of her as a closeted bisexual swinger more believable in one shot.

 

[Altissimus]

There's a reason all my MCs are mimes.