Writing Advice: Show, Don't Tell - With an Example

"Writing Tips: Show, Don’t Tell"
Finish Writing (July 21, 2008)

"The human mind is a powerful tool, as long as you give it a little guidance. Many of you have heard the phrase “Show, don’ tell,” with regard to your writing. This is a critical concept for an effective writer to create feeling in the reader. You remember, that our principle task as writers is to write in such a way that we create a desired feeling in the reader. That being said, do you really know what this phrase means?

"In High School I had a teacher that was very hard on me. He seemed to call on me every chance he got, and he didn’t take the typical High School answer you could normally get away with. He was demanding, but I eventually appreciated him for that. Once, when we were discussing poetry, he pointed out one of the ways that a reader could determine the value of a written work was to measure whether or not the reader had arrived at the meaning of the work on his own. (Did the author show, not tell)

"He gave an example of a simple 'roses are red, violets are blue...' type poem, and then contrasted it with a poem by Robert Frost called Departmental (it seems as though it’s about ants, but is it?)..."

Two things made this more than just one more page of writing advice.

1. The writer had something nice to say about a high school English teacher. As a recovering English teacher, that's nice to see.
2. This 'show, don't tell' page showed what's meant: with an example.

It's a good, fairly short, read - and worth your time. As a review, if nothing else.