Rules of Creative Writing

If ever read book on technique or had a manuscript wrote critiques on chances are you have heard the phrase "show don't tell". It's very hard to understand for a writer but once you get, hang of it your writing will outperform

"Telling" is the way for relaying information. Whether it is a detailed of an event or a description of a situation your can end conveying the dry and lifeless. You may provide the five W's and H- who, what, when, where, you can write on this basis but fiction needs spark to ignite the creative writers passion. There are many times when you need to tell, but for the, every part your writing needs to bright and obligating to keep those pages turning. "Showing" is also a good term; it is creating images in the readers mind. It is because of secret ingredient that allows the reader to use their imagination to immerse him or herself into the scene. You want the writing to put a picture into the reader's head.

Here are a few Do's and Don'ts to help you get started:

To convey information to reader it is advisable to use Action.

Should use dialogues to show instead to tell. Don't narrate; take yourself out of the story.

You should use senses- touch, sight, and taste, sound- to give the feelings and characteristics in the story.

Should use metaphors to create a mental picture.

Should not use too many adjectives and adverbs.

Felt should not use many times.

Don't name an emotion, use descriptive words to display it.

For example, Instead of saying "Susan was afraid," you should use action and dialogues to convey fright. You might say "Susan froze when she heard the voice behind her or "Please don't harm me," she whispered. Instead of showing fear this sentence has showed Susan's fear by what she said and how she said it.

Here's another example, Sam crawled through the mouth of the spelunk. He had never felt so cold before. Here's rewriting. Desperate, Sam used his elbows to push himself through the snow at the mouth of spelunk. Violent frisson's came in waves and he rolled, hugging his knees and curling into a fetal position. Instead of using the word "felt", here has showed Sam's actions to paint more intense picture. Here's he tried to use active verbs instead of adjectives and adverbs which don't convey movement.