Showing is illustrated through actions and interiority rather than the author telling us how the character is reacting and behaving. Here are five danger zones to watch out for. 1. Action : Don't tell us what a character does; describe what constitutes the action. Telling : Dick worked hard. Showing : Dick wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve. He lifted the axe and swung: thunk, swipe, thunk. The chunk of wood sheared into small pieces. Each blow reverberated through his shoulders and back. Telling : Jane walked quickly through the aisles, tossing in items without looking at them. Showing : Jane strode down the aisles, grabbing boxes of cereal and crackers and cans of soup, reaching for familiar colors and logos, more concerned about getting back to the case than her menu plans for the week. 2. Emotions: Show the emotion, don't name it. Telling : Jane felt sad. Showing : Jane sat at her desk, staring at the coffee ring on the scarred ...

February is the month of “Love” and we’ve been discussing this theme in our writing all month. Love is an emotion. I have found that emotion is the KEY to rounded character development. If you write Sean loved Mary with all his heart , do you “feel” that love? Do you identify with him? Empathize? No? How can you “show” emotion without “telling” your reader what to feel? Here’s an exercise to put yourself “in the mood,” so to speak: • Close your eyes and think of the word Love and remember a time when you felt that emotion. • How is your body reacting? What are some of your physical reactions? • What are you thinking? • What do you see? Any specific colors? What color is love? • Is there a certain smell that goes with the feeling? (lilacs, Old-Spice aftershave, Neco Wafers?) • A taste? What does love taste like? (cinnamon, licorice, scotch?) • A sound. What does love sound like? Write for ten minutes based on your feelings without using the word “love”. Here’s an exce...

In my day job years, I often read during my daily train commute. Invariably, I'd come across a touching scene in a book. To avoid being embarrassed, I'd blink, look out the window, or do whatever I could to hide my emotions. Fiction is a powerful weapon. With skilled hands on the trigger, a book can make a sad person happy, or the opposite. It can resurrect buried memories, make someone ponder the mysteries of life, satisfy a craving for romance or adventure, or even transport someone to a different world.  The question is, how can an author elicit emotions or reactions from readers? A few ways come to mind. First, make sure the reader isn't thrown out of the story. Careful editing is essential to avoid the distraction of spelling, syntax, or common sense errors. Next, think about how you'd like your reader to react to certain scenes. Make sure your character's body language and dialogue support the emotions you wish to convey. Lastly, and this i...