Tried the "show don't tell" approach against the "just write" method for a month straight

I spent 30 days forcing myself to only show emotions through actions and descriptions in my short stories, then switched to just writing whatever came to mind. The showing approach made my stories feel stiff and I kept second-guessing every line, while the just write method got me 3 finished pieces in one week. Has anyone else found that one writing rule they swore by actually made things worse for them?

2 comments

2 Comments

seana141d ago

People get way too hung up on rules like that. It's writing not brain surgery. If breaking the rule gets more stories finished, then break it. The whole "show don't tell" thing got blown way out of proportion anyway. It's a tool not a commandment. Some of the best scenes in books just tell you straight up how someone feels. Honestly most advice online is just one person's opinion that got repeated a thousand times. Do what works for you and ignore the rest.

susan_nguyen1d ago

Huh, that's actually really interesting. I used to be all in on "show don't tell" like it was some sacred writing rule. I thought it was the only way to make stories feel real. But your experiment makes me wonder if I was just making things harder for myself. I remember rewriting a scene five times trying to show a character being sad through their actions, when I could have just said they were sad and moved on. Maybe the rule works for some people but it just kills the flow for others. I might try your approach and see if I actually finish more stuff.