Episode description

The most important piece of creative writing advice you'll ever receive? 

Show. Don't. Tell.

You might have heard it before, but it definitely bears repeating! In a nutshell, here's the difference between the two...

When you're telling the story, it sounds like: 

Sally was sad. 

When you're *showing* the story, it sounds like: 

Sally ate her popcorn on the couch, ugly-crying and shouting at the TV that love isn't real. 

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Now, it's a rather cliche example, but which one of these characters do you feel like you know better? And therefore, who are you more invested in?

We've all probably read a book where we don't care if the characters live or die. Usually that's because the characters don't feel real. 

People care about real people. If you want people to invest in your story, you need to show them who they are!

(By the way, this rule still applies when everything is magical or made up - to the reader, they should still feel real!)

I dive a little deeper into this concept in episode 53 of the Vocabbett podcast. Listen now!