How can you master the art of 'showing' in your writing?

When you can illustrate a point through narrative you are engaging the reader in a meaningful way. The "show don't tell" adage is overused. Good storytellers know that you need both. Many times the best advice isn't "show don't tell" but instead "know when to zoom in." The biggest stories are most meaningful when the writer pinpoints the tiniest of details we can all relate to. It's not the love lost but the last kiss goodbye. It's not the war but the burned baby sock in the fire-bombed neighborhood. Choose the details that are zoom worthy. The ones that make your point without overdone exposition. Tie personal experience to an event in a way that bears witness to its emotional truth. If you do that, then you will have shown it all.

By telling of course! In order to hit my minimum of characters, I'll list Pi 3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971 6939937510582097494459230781640628620899 862803482534211706798214808651328230664709384460955058223172535940812848111745028410270193852110555964462294895493038196

Vivid Descriptions: Use sensory details to paint a vivid picture, engaging readers' senses. Dialogue: Let characters' words reveal emotions, motivations, and conflicts, adding depth to scenes. Action and Movement: Show characters' actions and movements to convey mood, tension, and pacing. Symbolism and Metaphors: Employ symbolism and metaphors to convey deeper meanings and themes subtly. Internal Monologue: Dive into characters' thoughts and emotions to reveal their inner conflicts and growth. Subtext: Use subtext to imply emotions, conflicts, and underlying tensions without explicitly stating them. Show, Don't Tell: Prioritize showing over telling, allowing readers to experience the story firsthand rather than being told about it.

I would recommend reading the best screenplays and concentrating on the action lines. The finest screenwriters know how to use active words in the briefest, most effective, ways possible.

Dans mon écriture, l'art de montrer s'épanouit par l'écoute et le respect des codes de communication. J'écris ce que je vois, offrant la liberté de découvrir. Je nourris cette liberté d'interprétation sans imposer de direction. Transmettre le contr?le ne le fait pas perdre. Je deviens une accompagnatrice ou chaque détail offre une expérience immersive. Pour rythmer mes écrits, j'incorpore souffle et silences ; lorsque le rythme s'accélère, virgules, points et pauses marquent le tempo, rendant mes mots vivants et expressifs.

Avec la voix active, je sais pourquoi j'écris : ce n'est pas pour parler de moi ou romancer les faits, mais pour accompagner le lecteur et lui fournir des informations précises. Chaque mot a un but, chaque phrase est con?ue pour engager et informer sans détour. En utilisant cette approche, je crée un texte dynamique et immersif qui place le lecteur au c?ur de l'action, lui permettant de visualiser et de ressentir ce que je décris de manière immédiate et tangible. Ainsi, la voix active transforme mon écriture en un outil puissant et efficace, guidant le lecteur à travers une expérience claire et impactante, tout en évitant les détours inutiles et les digressions.

Active Voice: "The dog bit the man." Passive Voice: "The man was bitten by the dog." An active voice sentence generally gets straight to the point, whereas the passive voice sentence takes a more roundabout way to convey the same information. Because passive voice sentences use additional words, it can make the writing feel more cumbersome. Also, passive voice is less direct and slightly more complex, requiring the reader to work a bit harder to understand who is performing the action.

Cette approche permet aux lecteurs de ressentir les émotions par eux-mêmes, ce qui rend mon écriture plus immersive et convaincante. En capturant les nuances émotionnelles, je crée des scènes vivantes qui font vivre une expérience authentique à mes lecteurs, les engageant pleinement dans le récit. Chaque détail conserve son importance et ne laisse pas place à la subjectivité. Ex : Marc a été content / je n'en sais rien par contre je sais que Marc a souri, le lecteur pourra interpréter en toute autonomie.

Es importante fijarse en los detalles de las personas y cómo reaccionan a lo que dicen y a lo que tú dices. Recuerdo que en un viaje por Cuba, mi entrevistado me subió a una carreta, entonces conté cómo la manejaba, mientras tomaba ron, y cuando debía bajarme alebrestó al caballo. Son esos detalles los que hacen la diferencia al escribir crónicas.

Surprise, delight, or simply, a satisfied smile ... Emotion tells a story. We as humans are wired for story. And so, an emotional hook compels the reader to stick with yours.

An example to illustrate the differences: Mundane: "The market is very competitive." w/ Simile (simple comparison): "The market is as competitive as a crowded marathon race." w/ Metaphor (imaginative comparison): "The market is a battlefield, where only the strongest survive."

I am a big believer in dialogue use using the fictional setting to build a character or ensemble cast of characters and develop a personality or a group of personalities to engage the reader and promote their own ideas about the scene. To me it shows the true feelings in a story because the reader joins the page by understanding the position of the singular or multiple characters. The understanding that each character is important by the tone of the dialogue or the more direct attention that the reader needs to understand the strength of the conversation to create the image in the reader’s mind.

Dialogue use → Higher engagement + Deeper connections. Here's why: Integrating dialogue into business narratives not only makes the stories more engaging but also helps to reveal character dynamics, emotions, and the specifics of situations in a way that plain descriptions cannot. This approach helps readers connect more deeply with the content, making it more memorable and impactful.

Take the role of a narrator. You need to paint the scenario so your reader can engage and immerse themselves in your story. This doesn't only apply to literary writing or creative copies, but also on journalistic articles and even company blogs. Engagement -> Retention -> Action How can you even do that? You can do it by using the PAS (Problem-Agitate-Solution) and BAB (Before-After-Bridge) approach in storytelling. These makes readers instantly relate to the scenarios, keep their attention, and encourage them to take action. After all, who doesn't want their problems solved and negative situations changed?

"The conference room was silent, the tension palpable. John paced slowly around the table, his footsteps soft on the carpet, eyes fixed on the floor. The table itself was bare, save for a few laptops displaying colorful charts and proposals, stark against the plain, white surface." This concise example uses detailed descriptions to convey the atmosphere and dynamics of a negotiation, making the scene more engaging and vivid.

Of those listed above ‘active voice’ is the most important. I would also add “conversational prose”- try to write as if you were explaining the idea to someone sitting next to you. Too many metaphors, flowery language or witty one liners can come off as insincere or inauthentic.