Showing+Strategies


 * Showing ** and **Telling** indicate the depth and detail of a narrative. There are many ways to deepen a **Telling** so it becomes a **Showing.** Examples below.

[ 1] We were facing the edge of the large forest behind our school. My friends and I often wandered around this forest after school, walking on or off the pathways.
Senses Challenge 1. Look at your sentence. 2. Write details to show every one of the senses: During the fall semester, we would hike several deep into the forest, discovering deer, skunks and other timid woodland creatures. Once, we came across a long dizzying underground drain tunnel to crawl through, covered in graffiti and littered with the remnants of a homeless man’s belongings. During the winter we skated around on the ice, and in the spring the heavy rainwater flooded into a wide brook that we built makeshift bridges across out of logs. During this time the forest was crawling with baby rattlesnakes and cicadas that coated the tree branches, frightening away other wandering students, so we had the forest to ourselves.
 * What did you see?
 * What did you hear?
 * What did you smell?
 * What did you feel?
 * What did you taste?
 * [2] That night I sat at my kitchen table with three post-it notes sitting in front of me and directions to write a story **** . **

Thoughtshot Challenge 1. Look at your sentence. 2. Imagine that people could hear everything you were thinking at that moment.
 * 1) Write down everything that went through your head, everything you thought right then.

[**Showing]** I couldn’t seem to wrap my brain around the idea of a dead Barbie doll, in a spider infested hotel room, which had strict directions to fly to the moon and create an army of mutant broccoli men. I guess that’s what I get for being enrolled in a school with a 1 to 5, girl to boy ratio. I became nearly tear-eyed trying to piece together my story. It was the first big assignment since I had finished elementary school, so I wanted it to be good. Eventually I realized that there was no right answer. That, no matter how distorted the story seemed, I could fill in the blanks. My pen started scrambling a mile a minute and ideas seemed to flow right out of my mouth. I was stunned as to how natural it came to me.

[3] I expected to hit the same writer’ block in this story, but it never came. In fact, the exact opposite occurred and I had a pretty solid start to the story.


 * (Showing] **
 * Next thing I knew, I was typing as quickly as the computer would allow, which wasn’t nearly as fast as the story being written in my head. My hands were simply taking notes to what my mind had thought up. At the same time as I typed it out, my eyes saw it for the first time and I read it not knowing what was going to happen in the story as though my mind hadn’t just told me exactly that. It was as though there were two of me, one writing the story, the other, reading it. **

Dialogue Challenge

1. Look at your sentence. 2. Imagine all of the conversation that went on at that moment. 3. Write down everything

everyone said.

=** Hints: Dialogue is more than just words. It’s also looks and silences. Pauses. Stares. Short bursts! ** = = = =** And try writing it like a script…it’s fun! ** = = = =** Me: What? ** = =** My friend: Are you talking to me? ** =