English 2790

People that say they are a badass usually aren't | A Whole Lotta Nothing

People that say they are a badass usually aren't | A Whole Lotta Nothing: "People that say they are a badass usually aren't

Apropos of nothing, one of the best pieces of advice Meg ever gave me was to impart a big lesson she learned as an english major writing fiction: show, don't tell. When writing a story, don't talk about how bad a character is, write a scene where they do terrible things and the reader will come away with the point you were trying to make.

Now, me not being an english major and not having to write much fiction, I didn't think the advice would help. Over the years though, I've noticed it comes up in a lot of things aside from writing fiction. I think about it when working on my resume or portfolio, when I wrote the realtor description for our last house, and whenever I met someone for the first time. I'm highly dubious of people that tell me a lot of amazing things they have done but have little to actually show for it.

Show, don't tell. It crops up time and time again and is some of the best advice I've been given."

posted by craniac @