28/11/2023
How do we INCREASE description in writing? 🤔
🪄”Show Don't Tell" is a writing technique that encourages authors to create a vivid and engaging experience for the reader by allowing them to infer what is happening through actions, sensory details, and dialogue rather than it being directly told. 🎪
🥅 The goal is to make the writing more appealing and help readers to connect with the story on a deeper level.
Here's a breakdown of the concept:
❌ Telling:
* Involves directly stating facts or emotions without providing sensory details or allowing the reader to draw their conclusions.
* It can be informative but may lack the emotional impact and engagement that showing can offer.
* Example: "John was sad."
✅ Showing:
* Involves painting a picture with words, using descriptive language, sensory details, and actions to convey emotions or information.
* Allows readers to experience the story more actively, engaging their senses and imagination.
* Example: "Tears welled up in John's eyes, his shoulders slumped, and he stared out of the window. The raindrops mimicking the sadness in his heart."
Read through the slides on this post so you can understand how to:
🫣 Spot an example of TELLING
😌 Understand an example of SHOWING
👁️👃🏽SHOW don’t tell by engaging the senses
🎨 SHOW don’t tell by increasing description (adjectives, adverbs, vivid verbs)
🖼️ SHOW don’t tell by using figurative language (metaphors, similes, alliteration, personification, onomatopoeia)
🌈 By SHOWING, writers provide the reader with more space for interpretation and emotional connection. It invites readers to place themselves in the narrative, forming a deeper understanding of characters, settings, and events. This technique is commonly used in narrative writing in general to make the writing more compelling and memorable.
🧠 Show Don’t Tell is a foundational part of our writing instruction at Flexibrain. And this is only the tip of the iceberg of what we teach…
💌 To know more about how to help your child’s writing flourish, send us a DM with the word ‘SHOW’ so we can chat about how to best support their writing growth!