Do you agree with the concept "Show, don't tell"?

yeah

i don't think chachov said that since he was russian and this is english

>>9046295
Telling is important, too. Don't let anyone say that telling is always terrible, because it isn't. But the things you tell are things that are necessary to know, but not necessary to understand, if that makes sense.

>>9046302
You idiot, he hired a translator to help him say it

Every piece of writing advice can be ignored if the writing is good; fits the narrative, and advances the story.

Show dont tell is a proponent of omitting useless information as well as an aesthetic.

It usually makes for better storytelling and forces people to be more creative

for example, instead of saying "Greg walked along the busy sidewalk", surely there is a more interesting way to show that with complete and fulfilled images.

It is not necessary for every single sentence and detail in the book.

Definitely. *unzips penis*

The rule of show dont tell is actually an exercise for beginners.

It's something you need to practice as a beginner, so it can become a tool you can deploy when you need to. For instance, a close third narration can run the risk of magically knowing what other characters are thinking, since general third person can do that. But in a close third, you should stick with just the one character. So you'd have to "show" their thoughts even if you can "tell" the focus character's.

>>9046295
"Don't tell me there is a glint of moonlight on the broken glass; show me that glass in a detailed drawing on the opposite page."
Chekhov publisher's out-of-work illustrator

>>9046295
The only reason you should ever tell when you can show is when showing would be redundant and/or ruin the pacing.

That said, doing mostly telling is fine. In a first draft. But then again, the only thing you should ever share a first draft with is your dog.

>>9046417
>"Greg walked along the busy sidewalk"

This is actually good though. It's terse and on point.

Everyone knows what a busy sidewalk looks like, and simple declarative sentences are usually the ones that evoke images in my opinion.

If you include too much purple prose, people will be more interested in the use of language, than what you are writing about, which isn't a good idea if you're writing fiction if you ask me.

>>9046538
It's good if you don't really care about the sidewalk, but it is inherently a boring sentence and the reader won't really care. There's no real imagery, and there's no investment into the character or setting. Now if I said:

>Greg's rock hard cock rubbed against his jeans as he shuffled with downcast eyes along the sidewalk that was crowded with peering eyes and disgusted glares from bespectacled, matronly women who steered their children away from the strange man with the clear impression of a dick straining against his pants

Then I am much more engaged in the story and have a clearer mental image.

>>9046553
I honestly think it's way too purple, and pointless.

A sidewalk is by definition boring, and trying to make it less boring by using needlessly flamboyant language doesn't make it less boring.

If anything, it's better to simply not say anything about the sidewalk, or be terse about it, than using language like that about inconsequential things.

THE TRICK IS TO MAKE BOTH WORK.

SHOW DONT TELL IS TAUGHT TO PEOPLE LEARNING HOW TO WRITE FICTION. SO, IN THAT SENSE, IT IS NECESSARY TO ADVOCATE THIS AS THE UTMOST NECESSITY. OTHERWISE YOU WOULD HAVE EVERYBODY WRITING BLAND DESCRIPTIVE SENTENCES WITH NO INTERESTING OR THOUGHT-PROVOKING IMAGERY.

CHEKHOV THOUGHT SHOWING COULD HELP THE READER TO BUILD THE IMAGE IN THEIR OWN MINDS. PROVIDING LITTLE DETAILS OF THE ENVIRONMENT RATHER THAN JUST SAYING "THE ROOM WAS DARK AND JIMMY COULD NOT SEE HIS WAY AROUND ALL THE CHAIRS."

TELL IS AS IMPORTANT AS SHOW, AND VICE VERSA. A GOOD PIECE OF WRITING ENCOMPASSES BOTH, MAKING SURE THEY FLOW TOGETHER AND DOESN'T MAKE THE PASSAGE/S DISJOINTED OR CLUNKY.

>>9046553
Engaged in the story sure, not engaged in the sidewalk - it's a fucking sidewalk

So, comic books are actually better than literature.

>>9046597
NO MEDIUM IS WITHOUT THE FLAWS OF EXPOSITION.