The Dark and Darkness ( capitalization for emphasis) is a great way to SHOW ( not tell) a character's intent, setting, genre, conflicts, morality, ignorance and more. It's a great plot device too that can add tension and create a foreboding atmosphere in an otherwise benign event or scene.
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Knives are a great way to show or reveal character, mood, culture, setting, and intent. Knives are powerful and iconic symbols of power, violence, and conflict. Yet they can be so much more than that. Are you using the knives in your novel to enhance your plot and characters?
✅ Discover the Power of Archetype & Write a More Masterful Sentence with my MASTER CLASS. A great story has great characters. Memorable characters that leap from the page do more than just entertain. The reader relates and learns from them. Discover how to create believable and nuanced characters that drive plot and enhance conflict by teasing out all the strengths and weaknesses found in archetypes.
There are many ways to tell a story and even more ways to write the scenes and sentences within. An ordinary sentence may move the plot forward, but a masterful sentence or scene does so much more! A purpose-driven scene enhances mood, tone, characterization, conflict, plot, theme, and emotion.
Discover the author techniques and literary devices to create evocative and layered prose that transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. This course provides both a literary and real-life approach to:
• characterization
• archetypes
• authorial techniques
• literary devices
that will help you master the art of ‘showing vs telling’.
GET IT HERE: https://www.udemy.com/course/the-power-of-archetype-write-a-more-masterful-sentence/?referralCode=F520EC671005635E15CA
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Mirrors are symbolic of vanity, truth clarity, illumination, distortion, and a reflection of one's soul. All of these can help you SHOW emotion, characterization, conflict, setting, worldview, and plot.
Things to be considered if there's a mirror in your story:
How does the character look into the mirror ( gaze, ponder, glance, stare, grimace, etc ) How is the mirror framed?
Gilded, modern, minimalist, industrial, chipped?
Is the glass ancient, new, distorted, clean, fogged, dirty?
How big or small is the mirror?
What else is reflected in the mirror?
What is not reflected in the mirror?
ALL these things can—if you chose—SHOW the character’s personality, emotion, setting, conflict, worldview, and more! Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the showiest of them all?
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Books can mean so much more than just be symbolic for learning and knowledge. They can show emotion, conflict, setting, characterization. They can foreshadow too. It's all in what and how you use the book(s) in your story. Any detail that you include about the book can make your writing more purposeful and add nuance to your characters and story.
Books and all their little details can SHOW emotion, personality, world views, societal views, without TELLING. And readers are smart-- they pick up on those clues instinctually.
What's the title of the book in your story? How is the title important to the plot, character, and conflict? Is the book old or new or ancient? Honestly, who doesn't love ancient wisdom? Why exactly is the book forbidden? Or hidden? Or locked away? Or forgotten? What does it really say about the characters or the setting or society? Is the book well-loved, dog-eared? Or is it in pristine condition? What extra clues do you want to give your readers by including a book in your plot?
⭐️ PART OF MY SHOW DON'T TELL SERIES ⭐️
Gray is a color that can show emotion, setting, and personality, and the adjectives used to describe the color have feelings and images attached to them. Using a color, like gray, can add nuance and enrich your writing, no matter what you're describing.
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White is a color that can show emotion, setting, and personality, and the adjectives used to describe the color have feelings and images attached to them. Using a color, like white can add nuance and enrich your writing, no matter what you're describing.
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Black is a powerful and far-reaching color for showing emotion and personality, and color descriptors have feelings and images attached to them. Using a color, like black, can add nuance and enrich your writing, no matter what you're describing. ⭐️ PART OF MY SHOW DON'T TELL SERIES ⭐️
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The color yellow and all its many shades can enrich scenes, reveal character, and emotions because color and specific color descriptors give readers all the feels. Or maybe just a clue. It's up to you, the writer. Colors come with a feeling; choose with care.
The color blue and all its many shades can enrich scenes and reveal character and emotions because color and specific color descriptors can give readers all the feels. Or maybe just a clue. It's up to you, the writer. Colors come with a feeling; choose with care.
Check the Show don't Tell playlist on YouTube for more. New video posted weekly.
Use color and color descriptors to show or amplify emotion, characterization, conflict, and theme with today's color, green.
Green is fertility and nature.
Green is youth and inexperience.
Green is envy and jealousy.
Green is nature.
Green is soothing and inviting. There's nothing scary about green.
Green eyes are associated with magic and the power to enchant.
There are many precious and semi precious stones, each with their own symbolic meanings.
Things to keep in mind:
1. Make it fit the culture, time period, setting, mood, and POV.
2. HOW specific do your need to be and WHY? Otherwise it's pointless and annoying.
Red is powerful color for showing emotion and personality, and the shades of red are also powerful. Using color, like red, can add nuance and enrich your writing, no matter what it's describing.
⭐️ PART OF MY SHOW DON'T TELL SERIES ⭐️
The new year is about making author and writing resolutions that are difficult to keep AND about trying to balance our writing life with real-life responsibilities. The writing struggle is real. One many of us face and feel bad about because we can't seem to manage all that we should.
Life throws us off balance and our well-intentioned resolutions go out the door. But THAT'S OKAY! 😃 Here's why!
Giving gifts is another way that writers can SHOW the desires, strengths, and needs of a character in your story. Showing is a clue into your character's personality so if you have a scene where they give a gift, consider what you would like to show your readers. All those showing clues add up and make for memorable and believable characters.
Clothes can say a lot about a character, their mood, personality, culture, ambitions, personality, and much more if it's done for purpose. But beware, descriptions for no reason just add to word count. This episode peeks into the story closet to offer ways to give readers clues about your characters.
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✅ Find more ways to show not tell in my quick, easy-to-use guide The Magic of Symbolism: Enrich Your Writing With Hidden Meaning. https://autumnbardot.com/books/the-magic-of-symbolism/
✅ For more showing not telling ideas take my master class The Power of Archetype & Write a More Masterful Sentence.
A great story has great characters. Memorable characters that leap from the page do more than just entertain. The reader relates and learns from them. Discover how to create believable and nuanced characters that drive plot and enhance conflict by teasing out all the strengths and weaknesses found in archetypes.
There are many ways to tell a story and even more ways to write the scenes and sentences within. An ordinary sentence may move the plot forward, but a masterful sentence or scene does so much more! A purpose-driven scene enhances mood, tone, characterization, conflict, plot, theme, and emotion. Discover the author techniques and literary devices to create evocative and layered prose that transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.
This course provides both a literary and real-life approach to:
• characterization
• archetypes
• authorial techniques
• literary devices
that will help you master the art of ‘showing vs telling’.
https://www.udemy.com/course/the-power-of-archetype-write-a-more-masterful-sentence/?referralCode=F520EC671005635E15CA
Twas the night before Fictionmas
when all through the house
Only a writer was stirring and starting to grouse
The plot was all outlined but in need of some flair
In hopes that saint publishing soon would be there
The protagonist was nestled all snug in her head
with conflicts and character arcs that were already half dead....
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'Tis the season and it's difficult for many writers to make progress on a manuscript. Be merry, all is not lost! I have tips for showing ( not telling) character while enjoying all the festivities.
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We writers like to complain about all the different problems and struggles we face, but there are many things writers, especially indie authors, can be grateful for. Here's a short list.
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Writing an enticing, market-savvy description for your book can be a challenge, but there are tricks and tips to get it done right. Your book's description is vital to getting a new reader to click the Buy link. This requires thinking like a marketer and advertiser, which can be difficult for many writers. This episode has a few tips and ticks to finding and testing keywords to use in your book description and a hack that helped me learn how to write one.
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Don't rush when writing, revising, editing, uploading, querying, marketing or any part of the writing process because it's a sure way to make costly and aggravating mistakes. Too often beginner writers and newer authors make the mistake of rushing through all or part of the process in their excitement and eagerness to get their book Out There. It happens to the best of us. And when you rush, mistakes happen! Despite our giddiness in getting out book Out There writers need stop rushing through the process and practice patience.
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Sometimes it feels like I'm the only one NOT participating in the NaNoWritMo word count challenge. It's a lot of fun and a great motivator for many many writers and authors, but it's not for everyone. And that's ok! Here are my reasons for not participating.
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