Hello! Any tips on how to show rather than tell for a creative response?
Hi Sarah!
One thing I was told was don't tell the audience your character is excited/angry/sad, describe the behaviours and/or thoughts of an excited/angry/sad person. Same goes for things like describing the setting, don't say the grass was green and it was a nice summer day, explain the grass and the day through the senses. Don't just state what you want the audience to know, describe it with imagery and symbolism! Here are some good (and more specific example than the ones i just gave)
Lisa's Study Guides: How to achieve an A+ in creativeExample 1Tell: Katie was very happy.
Show: Katie’s face lifted. Little wrinkles appeared around her bright eyes, her dimples made an appearance that dug into her cheeks as a big grin emerged to show her perfect teeth.
Example 2Tell: She felt horrible for the weeping children.
Show: Guilt throbbed inside her as she stared at the weeping children. Her heart pounded against her chest, her hands trembling beside her still body, her brain screaming at her to do something.
Example 3Tell: I was scared.
Show: I hear my breathing; heavy, and rapid. I shut my eyes tightly. I can feel goosebumps running up my arms and down my back.
To test whether or not you are ‘telling’ instead of ‘showing’, think about whether or not your sentence leaves room for questions. In Example 1, ‘Katie was very happy’ would leave the reader thinking – what thought or action showed that she was happy? Whereas ‘show’ demonstrated that she was happy without directly stating it.
The key is to go into the finer details!