Showing, Telling, and Genre

[Story_Marc]

I got asked to make a video that focuses more on how genre can impact showing & telling this week, so...I did. @DarkDuck09, I address a question you once asked in this a bit more with how to world build without info dumping.

Full disclosure, I have no clue what book planted the realization that show, don't tell can be impacted by genre into my head. It's clearly in my notes, but I haven't been able to find the original book for years. This is the drawback of having over two thousand books, even if I can narrow down the search. Regardless, hopefully, this one can give some direction. And as always, if you have any questions, ask away.

If you want to have a say in the next episode, go to my YouTube community tab. This is the final voted episode for this month and these are the options:

- How to Write Parody/Satire
- Combatant Archetypes Project
- The Two Types of Mystery Structures
- Romance Story Structures
- A Guide to Writing First Person Perspective

Finally, I have an announcement on Friday, but that'll wait until Friday. The most I can say is my channel output will be increasing.

 

[Iamnotabot]

 

[DarkDuck09]

Thanks, appreciate it. Kind of went off the beaten path a bit for what I meant, but as with most things in writing a lot things are subjective.

 

[Story_Marc]

Thanks, appreciate it. Kind of went off the beaten path a bit for what I meant, but as with most things in writing a lot things are subjective.

I mean, it's mainly in the part about exposition. It's pretty much an overarching idea. Dramatize exposition, only explain what needs to be explained, etc.

 

[bulmabriefs144]

I actually think the Show Don't Tell is crap. Like much of the other advice you get from people on how to write.

In the end, if you want to exposition the heck out of something, go right ahead. If you want to leave the details vague, you can do that too. Lovecraft built a genre out of vagueness.

The author ultimately has to trust themselves for the production of their book. "Should" is a word that screws up many a promising novel, by squeezing it into a formula. I hate reading formula books, almost as much as I hate snowclones of successful books. Successful books break the mold because the author has a strong sense of self. Did Terry Goodkind listen to his publisher when he was told his books were too long, and nobody is into Objectivism anyway? No, he didn't.

So yes, you can tell as well as show, if you want. And no, I didn't watch the video.

That said, genre does matter. Certain genres lend better to massive exposition than others. Mystery is usually not one of them, unless you are able to drop clues without it being obvious.

 

[Story_Marc]

I actually think the Show Don't Tell is crap. Like much of the other advice you get from people on how to write.

In the end, if you want to exposition the heck out of something, go right ahead. If you want to leave the details vague, you can do that too. Lovecraft built a genre out of vagueness.

The author ultimately has to trust themselves for the production of their book. "Should" is a word that screws up many a promising novel, by squeezing it into a formula. I hate reading formula books, almost as much as I hate snowclones of successful books. Successful books break the mold because the author has a strong sense of self. Did Terry Goodkind listen to his publisher when he was told his books were too long, and nobody is into Objectivism anyway? No, he didn't.

So yes, you can tell as well as show, if you want. And no, I didn't watch the video.

That said, genre does matter. Certain genres lend better to massive exposition than others. Mystery is usually not one of them, unless you are able to drop clues without it being obvious.

I actually hate show don't tell as adv- wait, I make videos so I don't have to repeat myself over and over while exploring ideas!

Show, Don't Tell isn't crap itself, but I do say it's bad advice when people just toss it out without anything else. That said, here's where I cover the value of it.

Beyond that, look at what you said tossing out the Lovecraft example. That's part of the things I covered in techniques specific to horror. It's because I recognize that stuff is contextual. I bring this up in the omniscience-focused episode too.

There is no one way to do things, but there are patterns. I don't believe anybody has to follow anything, everyone is free to do as they please, but I do believe in actually listening to someone's actual thoughts and arguments instead of just writing it all off. That's how one makes informed decisions.

 

[DarkDuck09]

I mean, it's mainly in the part about exposition. It's pretty much an overarching idea. Dramatize exposition, only explain what needs to be explained, etc.

I didn't mean the video itself was off the beaten path. I agreed with most of what you said in the video; I just didn't vibe with the examples shown while you were explaining things at all. Most of the examples were describing places, where as I view showing and not telling as more of a way to describe what a character is feeling without saying words like mad, sad, happy, etc.

 

[Story_Marc]

I didn't mean the video itself was off the beaten path. I agreed with most of what you said in the video; I just didn't vibe with the examples shown while you were explaining things at all. Most of the examples were describing places, where as I view showing and not telling as more of a way to describe what a character is feeling without saying words like mad, sad, happy, etc.

Oh, that! I already covered that basically in the first show, don't tell video. Go to Warning Sign 7. I say to not name emotions there and then how to show emotion instead.

Now, if you want me to give specific examples for every way to express it, I can point to books on the topic that summarize what you can do. From the sounds of it, you're thinking about visceral reactions.

 

[DarkDuck09]

Oh, that! I already covered that basically in the first show, don't tell video. Go to Warning Sign 7. I say to not name emotions there and then how to show emotion instead.

Now, if you want me to give specific examples for every way to express it, I can point to books on the topic that summarize what you can do. From the sounds of it, you're thinking about visceral reactions.

I won't lie; I'm actually good on the topic myself. I was more wanting you to cover it because there are a lot of releases on SH that are lacking in the "Show don't tell" arena.