In a message dated 2/14/01 10:25:42 AM Eastern Standard Time, dshilling@worldnet.att.net writes:
<< > > How can you write in a purely "verbal," communicating medium by being
"non-verbal." It just doesn't work.
All right, words are our tools, but the maxim is "show don't tell" when using them. >>
Yes, and you can't "show" anything without having the characters BE verbal and providing description, etc. "Show don't tell" really doesn't fit the discussion we're having, imo. This falls into the category of what kinds of verbs (passive or not) an author uses, etc.
Annie
Ashton7@aol.com wrote:
In a message dated 2/14/01 10:25:42 AM Eastern Standard Time, dshilling@worldnet.att.net writes:
<< > > How can you write in a purely "verbal," communicating medium by being
"non-verbal." It just doesn't work.
All right, words are our tools, but the maxim is "show don't tell" when using them. >>
Yes, and you can't "show" anything without having the characters BE verbal and providing description, etc. "Show don't tell" really doesn't fit the discussion we're having, imo. This falls into the category of what kinds of verbs (passive or not) an author uses, etc.
But I thought that the original comments that sparked this particular discussion were specifically about what the characters _say_. You can provide description, dialogue and interior monologue all without having Vila talk like a psychostrategist or having Avon babble.
Mistral
From: Ashton7@aol.com
Yes, and you can't "show" anything without having the characters BE verbal and providing description, etc. "Show don't tell" really doesn't fit the discussion we're having, imo. This falls into the category of what kinds
of
verbs (passive or not) an author uses, etc.
I'm afraid I'm not really sure what that statement's supposed to mean. You can certainly 'show not tell' without having the character say a single word. All you need is a description of what happens, sufficient to let the readers draw their own conclusions. Whether it's interesting to read or not depends largely on the skill of the writer. Whether the tense form used is active or passive is pretty irrelevant. I'd say that the narrative voice (1st person or 3rd person) is more important in deciding what can be shown (or told, for that matter) and how.
Neil
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Ashton7＠aol.com -
Mistral -
Neil Faulkner