Is it just me, or does a lot of webnovels rely on Tell-not-Show instead of Show-not-Tell?

[beast_regards]

Show Not Tell is the suggested way of writing.
It is however also coming from the time of the paperback novels. If you purchased the book, you might as well continue reading even if things confuse you and wait until the information is appropriately revealed. If you borrowed the book, you would have to walk through the city again to borrow the different one, so you better continue reading

Webnovels on the other hand are long-running serialized pulp novels published electronically, which are usually free to read, with infinite competition. Readers may not retain the information since they aren't reading it in a single go, like the conventional novel, so it may be better to tell them instead of showing relying on their good memory, or before they skip the story in favour the next one.

It is still however suggested show not tell is better.

 

[CubicleHermit]

Maybe, he means I'm in the wrong for using an AI?

I'm surprised that AI is producing better "show-don't-tell" than you are.

I've run some of my recent chapters through AI to see what it can improve, and for the most part, it doesn't; it sucks voice out of it, and it *loves* adverbs, and spelling out emotions.

Occasionally, it comes up with better phrasing, and it's like... a smart thesaurus. But mostly, I'm unimpressed by AI.

 

[ACertainPassingUser]

You're reading too much shitty webnovel made by novice authors.

Try to read high quality webnovel made by experienced author and you will see the difference.

And the whole world of webnovel is HUGE, there's lots of stories from years ago that became popular back then and have significant quality.

You can also try to read pirated novels that weren't on sale anymore due to the publishing went bankrupt.

Physical novel that being read on the web browser would count as webnovel if you're pretentious enough, Hahahaha

 

[bigbear51]

That's because more webnovels are written by amateurs as a hobby. Hence the generally poorer quality and lack of proper storytelling skills.

 

[RainHarlow]

I just do what I want. Otherwise, I wouldn't even be ignoring all advice about what to do for a web novel and just doing a book. It doesn't make me smart, but it does make me stubborn, which is not an argument.

But no, I think balance is definitely better for any writing and something to strive for. Good luck out there, cheers!

 

[LunaSoltaer]

Yeah i have layers of depth in my book, but i can't for the life of me figure out what anyone is decoding since i have very little feedback whatsoever.

I'm just trusting that the 5+ people who binged me got something out of it o.o

 

[lnv]

Is it just me, or does a lot of webnovels rely on Tell-not-Show instead of Show-not-Tell? Or is it just me being unable to tell the difference between the two when I'm reading?

Everytime I write, I feel like all I do is Tell-not-Show and have to resort to using ChatGPT and Sudowrite to locate and fix it. I mean thank fucking god for AI but it's too time consuming when 80% of the chapter you wrote is TnS.

Many already said it to some extent but I'll add to it, the first rule of English language is to use proper English, the second rule of English is ignore all the rules.

Like all things in life, first we learn the basics be it writing or swordsmanship. Only when you got the basics down can you start ignoring the rules. Because the whole point of breaking the rules is the one doing so must understand what they are doing. If you don't understand what you are doing and break the rules, you are likely to mess up completely. Once you understand the rules, you can do anything from making up your own words to misspelling words to breaking grammar rules.

Sticking to rules is great and all but it will make your writing boring. Using show and not tell may seem more exciting on average as instead of info dumping you get to have the reader experience it with the character and makes it more memorable. But here is the thing, imagine your story is say about defeating the demon king, and your main character starts farming as a minor plot, and before you know it your defeat the demon king story becomes a farming slice of life story as you try to show and not tell. The key to show and not tell is precisely you as the author CHOOSING what you want to show and what you want to tell.

The risk of telling is you can break a reader's immersion, but also telling can be used to fast forward through less than important stuff or things of less focus of the story to bring you where you need to be in the story. Just like any tool don't overuse it.

There are also a lot of cool things you can do with telling that most readers don't notice by randomly telling minor elements and quickly changing their attention. Most readers won't appreciate it, but the careful ones and ones that reread may realize how these little things drop hints. Those few that do notice it will appreciate it.

 

[UnknownSaint171]

Is it just me, or does a lot of webnovels rely on Tell-not-Show instead of Show-not-Tell? Or is it just me being unable to tell the difference between the two when I'm reading?

Everytime I write, I feel like all I do is Tell-not-Show and have to resort to using ChatGPT and Sudowrite to locate and fix it. I mean thank fucking god for AI but it's too time consuming when 80% of the chapter you wrote is TnS.

Is it just me, or does a lot of webnovels rely on Tell-not-Show instead of Show-not-Tell? Or is it just me being unable to tell the difference between the two when I'm reading?

Everytime I write, I feel like all I do is Tell-not-Show and have to resort to using ChatGPT and Sudowrite to locate and fix it. I mean thank fucking god for AI but it's too time consuming when 80% of the chapter you wrote is TnS.

Yes, I have noticed most novels have ignored this #1 writing rule. Honestly, most of the time they fail in describing an event or write in small sentences. I actually like this type of writing, but this type of 'writing style' also has some flaws. I still think writing as 'Show, not Tell' is superior and can flesh out the story a lot better. As you've said, you can tell the difference after reading a lot of novels!

In the end, most Chinese Authors are just amateur writers.

 

[Story_Marc]

Yes, I feel a lot of web novelists are guide narrators instead of filter ones.