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last week's goals - cycle, fix hips - short storyIt’s something we, as writers, are constantly being told.  We have to show the reader our world, show them our characters and let them experience the story.  I’ve thought a lot about the old adage and have come up with a way I find useful to weed out my telling and replace it with showing.What is Telling?What do I mean when I say “telling”?  The easiest way I find is to read my work out loud.  If it sounds like I am recounting something that happened, like I’m chatting with friends, then it’s probably telling.  Here is an example:Ratchetman flew over the Perth skyline.  He stopped and looked at the beautiful river dotted with boats.If you read the above out loud you’ll hopefully see what I mean about it sounding like you are just recounting events while chatting.  That’s how I think of it.What is Showing?Showing is when you write about the experience of doing the action.  It is a form of writing that would sound funny if you spoke like it in casual conversation.  If you read it out loud and it sounds just like you are reading a story out loud, then it is probably showing. Here is the same example rewritten:Wind whipped Ratchetman’s cape about as the Perth skyline slipped underneath him.  The boat-dotted river caught his attention, rendering him speechless with its beauty.If you read the above out loud, it would sound funny in ’round the water cooler’ conversation.  You can feel the cape flapping in the wind and see the city as Ratchetman flies over it.  That’s what showing is all about.  Most of your novel should be showing, but every now and then you’ll need to tell.When to Tell, When to ShowAfter reading all about showing and not telling, except when you should tell and not show, I have been left wondering, like you, when you do which.  I’ve read a lot of books.  I’ve read science fiction, fantasy, biography, literary fiction and books about guns (I’m a boy after all).  In all the story driven stuff (so everything except for the guns) I would say about 90-95% is showing and the remainder is telling.  OK, maybe biographies have more telling, but not all.  As a rule I show, but when I need to skip ahead or pass over some necessary, yet uninteresting, detail, I tell.  For example:Wind whipped Ratchetman’s cape about as the Perth skyline slipped underneath him.  The boat-dotted river caught his attention, rendering him speechless with its beauty.  It was midnight.  Time to fly home.Poor example, but I wanted to show you the ratio of showing vs telling and do it quickly without writing a whole chapter.  The first two sentences are showing because I want you to feel the flight and experience the river.  The second two sentences I’m telling because, while it is important you know it is midnight and he has to get home, it isn’t important that you feel that.  I could have written something like:The moon’s bright glow lit the low-lying clouds with a ghostly radiance.  Ratchetman raised his arm and glanced at his watch.  He squinted to make out the dial.  Midnight.  He banked into a sharp turn, the skyline slewing sideways and dropping away behind him.  blah blah blah…You could say that you tell when you need to move quickly without getting bogged down.  Sort of like the set up for a joke: “Three men walk into a bar…”  The joke only really starts after the men get to the bar and start talking to the bar tender.  So you tell the audience the entry and then start showing them the joke.Next Week's goals - cycle, fix hips - short story

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last week's goals - run 5km, 10km - update blurbs - how to write a novel draft Blurbs This is My Exit Plan first effort A man faces a deadly confrontation with unknown forces. He collects his journals and publishes them online in an effort to tell his unbelievable story of magic and monsters. When he rescues Jennifer McCormac from certain death he feels like a saint but it soon crumbles as his ego and newfound powers lead him down a destructive path on which he awakens to his foolishness too late. opening line, dramatic question, introduce character set the scene set the stakes what to expect This is my exit plan revised blurb. An unnamed man posts his journals online announcing that he is leaving to face an encounter from which he may not return; an encounter with mysterious forces left unsaid. As his unbelievable story unfolds, we meet his friends, colleagues and the harsh reality of a world where magic may be real. When he rescues a young girl from certain death, he feels like a saint, but that feeling soon crumbles. If he can't come to terms with his new reality, it won't just be his life that is forfeit, not just the life of his best friend that is taken, but everyone he has come to care for and possibly more. This is My Exit Plan mixes magic, monsters and the real world in a contemporary fantasy story about a man whose arrogance and foolish love of new-found power pits him against monsters and his own flawed view of a world where corruption and magic go hand in hand. Next Week's goals - release next blog - social media - how to write a novel revision - start outlining short story

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February Goals: - Post Blogs - social media support - How to write a novel last week's goals - new blog post - how to write a novel - run 5km, 10km The difference between story and plot plus a simple plotting tool. Next Week's goals - social media support - how to write a novel - Final edit of book 3 proof - send exit plan books out to voice actors

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