Show and tell

There is a growing debate within writing circles about what has become known as ‘show and tell’.

No, this is not about small children excitedly showing manky things found on the beach to their classmates, rather an important writing technique.

The argument goes like this: for you to truly engage your reader, you must make them feel that they are there when the action is happening.

It matters because if you fail to draw your reader into the story, your tale will lack something, an immediacy, a sense of drama, a sense of narrative.

How do you do it? Think of it like this: reach out a hand to your reader and say ‘come into my world, walk alongside me.’ Make them feel it is really happening now and to them.

Do that and they are hooked,

John Dean