All Questions
Tagged with characters showing-telling
26 questions
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How can you type 3 paragraphs about being prompt and present at school?
How can you type 3 paragraphs about being prompt and present at school?
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4
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How do I use the 'Show don't tell' rule with a blind character?
I'm writing a story in a first-person format, where the main character is blind, and I'm struggling with the 'show don't tell' (SDT) rule. I was wondering if there was any way I could kind of work ...
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Self-contained fictional narrative consisting of only about 150 words, and without conflict between the characters [closed]
The title describes the goal. Below is one attempt to achieve the goal.
My question: Can I say that there's no conflict between the characters, or is that just my opinion?
There's an obvious ...
- 121
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4
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How to make sure the reader knows the MC is a different species (not human)?
How can I hint that the main character is a different species (still mostly human shape) without directly telling? I could mention specific traits, but I'm not exactly sure how to incorporate them ...
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2
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How can I make my character show his feelings more without being excessive?
I started writing a story sometime ago, and I wrote all I could think of. I did a good job as per my imagination served me. I couldn't complete the story because I planned to go the magic and fantasy ...
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3
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How do you write a character with multiple personalities?
I have a character with multiple personalities, but the character is mute and cannot speak. He can only behave. Is there a way to show that this character has multiple personalities and is behaving ...
user36239
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2
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Show don't tell in the paragraph
How do I make this paragraph from telling to show?
How could I describe a memory of him trying to make a friend even though he is disliked by others on his planet?
Here is the paragraph for these two ...
- 9
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3
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How can I show characters dealing with rejection?
From my own experience reaction to rejection is very internal. I'm having troubles with coming up with actions that rejected people do, that would be perfect description for what they feel. It would ...
- 609
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4
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How can I keep a spy character portrayed as competent and yet have interactions between protagonist and antagonist?
I have a character that is a spy, and part of their job is sneaking around and getting into places without being noticed. However, in order to have conflict in the plot, have characters interacting to ...
- 4,664
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5
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How do I show that my character is intelligent?
I have a fantasy story in which the lead character is designed as your typical bland everyman protagonist whose purpose is to give the reader someone to relate to and ask questions about the ...
- 4,664
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2
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Does descriptive language in written fiction work as well as physical characterization in visual media?
Character design in visually oriented works (comic books, film, television) is often a useful shorthand for making characters stand out and be memorable in terms of their appearance. For example, ...
- 4,664
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How do I show a character is involved in Internet subculture without making them seem dated?
I have a character who one of their primary character quirks is supposed to be that they are very involved in Internet subculture. They're a programmer who spends a lot of their spare time on certain ...
- 4,664
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7
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Is straight-up writing someone's opinions telling?
When I first learned about the "show don't tell" guideline, I believe it applied to everything. I have now learned there are many grey areas, like for example exposition, and that the most important ...
- 4,053
18
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8
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3k
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How to make clear what a part-humanoid character looks like when they're quite common in their world?
How can I describe an unconventionally part-humanoid character, so the reader knows clearly what they look like, while in a world where these people are normal and it's not unusual at all for ...
- 413
3
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4
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474
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How to write about characters and places you aren't personally familiar with?
What do I need to do, as an Indian writer, if I want to make British or Americans the main characters in my book, and make the whole story revolve around them in any other country?
In general, is it ...
- 39
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Do my characters need to have different mannerisms in order to be perceived as different?
My editor returned to me with her initial critique of my novel, saying some characters were too similar, and that they had the same likes and dislikes and flaws.
The characters she mentioned were ...
- 2,404
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15
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How to make the reader think that the *character's* logic is flawed instead of the author's?
Following up on my previous question, "How to make the villain's motives understandable if his logic is flawed?", how can I let the reader know that the lack of logic is on the character's side, ...
- 4,629
41
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How do I convey that a relationship is platonic?
I've been toying around with the idea of writing a novel. The story revolves around two characters, one male and one female, and the perspective will shift between them.
One of the central ideas of ...
- 885
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12
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How do you keep a villainous character from being offensive to a particular group?
If the villain of your story is a member of a certain group, how do you keep the story from being offensive to members of that group?
For example, one of the villain in my book is a WWII veteran. I ...
- 291
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4
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How can I write a street-smart character?
The book that I'm currently writing has a 16-year-old boy called Joseph Norton as the protagonist and it's implied via flashbacks that during his childhood he would frequently run away from his foster ...
user29299
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6
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How would a mature teenager behave?
I'm writing about a mature girl (15ish). But I'm not sure how she should act other than being polite. The way I think a mature person would act would be someone who doesn't swear, but some mature ...
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How much dialogue in a first date scene?
Something I always get stuck with is how to describe a first date. E.g. I have a story where 2 characters are on a blind date, so they have to get to know each other. How much of the date should be ...
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How can you show that a character is feeling amazing?
It's easy to show hesitance, fear or angst, you can have a character smoking 5-10 cigarettes in a row, linger for way too long, act out, or something like that. But how can you show a character that ...
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Writing my Watson trope
I've been advised to sharpen my sidekick from an "intriguing second tier" character to the delegate for the readers. Is there a tried and tested formula succinctly captured somewhere? I'm looking to ...
- 435
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Writing differently when following different character POVs - mainly age difference. (3rd Person)
I'm writing a sci-fi novel with more than one main character.
Since I'm not an experienced writer, I still struggle with some basic "rules" within writing that may or may not exist.
This issue is ...
- 2,796
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7
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Is Jaime Lannister a "telling not showing" example?
Warning: spoilers of A Song of Ice and Fire.
I was reading through this site that you should avoid telling what a character is by using other characters, example "Dan is the funniest person I know" - ...
