Queer Writers Unite!

[Arwen]

Another NaNoWriMo "keep writing" tip.

Remember that you want to show not tell. Telling doesn't put your reader in the scene. You will hear "show don't tell" so much you will want to SCREAM, but there's a reason for that.


EXAMPLE:

TELLING: Dean thought it was a hot day. He wanted some tea. Instead he found signs of thieves. That made him mad.

SHOWING: Sweat pooled under Dean's collar. He knew he would be red as a beet by noon but there was no escaping the west Texas sun. His boots scuffed up dust clouding the fence line. He dreamed of a shade tree and a
pretty girl handing him a sweet tea. Cursing softly, he found where
the barbed wire had been cut clean and neat by someone who knew what
they were after. "Rustlers. I'll kill the varmints when I catch them."

In the SHOWING, you not only have more words (Go NaNoWriMo), but you also now know where the character is and you should be able to feel the heat on your own skin. You also know why he's angry and the level of anger. Keep writing!