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Biggest Challenges
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Well-written material allows the reader to see, hear, and feel what is happening rather than being told what happened. This show, don't tell idea makes stories, whether fiction or non-fiction, and poetry live in the mind of the reader. News stories haven't yet come under the umbrella of showing, but the purpose of straight news items is different. Let's look at the difference between telling and showing through the following examples:
Telling:
The couple walked down the road until they reached a house. The man hurried around the side of the house to peek around the corner as the woman knocked on the door. When an elderly man opened the screen, the hidden man jumped onto the
porch with a gun in his hand, shooting the older man in the chest.
Showing through dialogue and action:
"Jason, I don't think we should be a doin this." Marla pulled against the scraggly-haired man forcing her along the country road. "Look, we can manage some other way, can't we?"
With a sharp curse, Jason jerked her to a stop. "We'll do what we planned to do. You better not back out now. Don't even be thinkin' that way, or I'll make you hurt real bad."
Tears pooled in Marla's eyes as she shuffled along the side of the dusty road. She wiped her nose on the arm of the faded sweatshirt she wore with tattered jeans. "Okay, okay, I'll do it. Jest don't hurt me any more."
With a rough push in her back, Jason caused her stumble a few steps before she caught her balance. "Jest get on up the drive to the house, and don't knock on the door until I get hid." He ran ahead of her, up the steps to the wrap-around porch, and behind the corner of the house from the door. He waved for Marla to knock on the door when she paused at the top of the steps. When she hung her head without moving, he hissed until she glanced toward him. Once he had her attention, he glared at her and shook a fist in her direction before jabbing a finger toward the door.
Marla's shoulder rose as she took a deep breath. She stepped to the door and lightly rapped with her fist. She started to turn away when the screen creaked open. An wizened man with wisps of gray hair standing away from his head stood in the opening.
"What's ja need?" he asked, leaning against the door jam.
Jason leaped from behind the corner of the house, a gun in his right hand. The elderly man jumped back and tried to slam the door, but he couldn't move as rapidly as the younger man. Jason fired the gun twice. Marla stood staring at the blood squirting from the man's narrow chest.
He doesn't look like he could of had that much blood, she thought as she backed away, a hand at her throat.
Showing through action:
The couple moved in stops and starts down the country road. The young man with the stringy hair would pull the stumbling woman, no more than a teenager, and she would resist. They stopped, and the man shook the girl, yelling at her. The girl's shoulder heaved, but she no longer fought him as they proceeded to a house set back from the gravel road.
The man hopped onto the wrap-around porch and hid behind the corner of the house. He motioned to the girl to knock on the door. She hesitated. He pumped his fist in her direction and pointed to the door. She lowered her head but did as directed.
When an elderly man opened the screen, the younger man leaped from behind the corner of house, a gun in his right hand.The elderly man jumped back and tried to slam the door, but the younger man was faster. He fired the gun twice. The girlstared at the blood squirting from the older man's narrow chest.
Showing in poetry:
Anger
Black, billowing smoke, fed by blazing flames,
Twists the mid and soul like a blade
Turning within a blast furnace of molten steel
Thought becomes muddled with eruptions of agony;
Nothing is clear or positive, but all confrontational,
Filled with the desire to hurt, to maim, even kill.
The pounding of one's heart closes his ears
To reason, to the cry of control, of restraint.
When the final explosion destroys all reason,
What is left is ashes of physical insanity,
The remains of emotional destruction,
The exhaustion felt by losing all inhibition.
Joy becomes a dim memory lost in violence.
(copyright 2006 by Vivian Gilbert Zabel)
If we, as writers, try to write as if the narrator is an observer recording the actions,behavior, and story as it unfolds before him,then we are showing, not telling.
Vivian Gilbert Zabel taught writing for twenty-five years, honing her skills as she studied and taught.
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Poetry Articles for Poetry Writers at World of Poets puts poets in the drivers seat. Many poets simply write poems without giving them much thought. However, we believe that when you read about poets, about poetry, and about poem writing poets begin to write better poetry. Whether the poetry articles are about online writing tips, entering poetry cotnests, poetic devices, or about poetry literature in general, you are sure to benefit from reading as much about poetry as you can. Our articles on poetry focus on poetry meaning, how to write better poems, poem analysis and enjoyment. We have included poetry essays and knowledge about where to find poetry books on literary criticsm and rhyming as well. Go ahead poet, learn the craft of poetry by studying rhetorical devices, rading poetry writers, and trying to incorporate some literary devices into your own online writing. Poetry doesn't have to be difficult. Learning poetry can be fun, challenging, and rewarding. So read what has been written for the poetry writers of the world: great poetry articles! |
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