tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406419060193144228.post8066235265037574138..comments2022-02-09T03:06:58.862-08:00Comments on KL's Writing FAQ's: Show and TellKathryn (KL) Lancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406419060193144228.post-18059380047613465432015-03-18T06:50:57.141-07:002015-03-18T06:50:57.141-07:00You raise some interesting points, Anne. Now that ...You raise some interesting points, Anne. Now that I am no longer writing on contracts, which often specify how long something must be, I never worry about making length--either too short or too long. I just write what I feel is necessary for what I'm trying to accomplish. You might try ignoring the word count and then if necessary cutting things later. Also, and I don't know if this is helpful, when I'm working on showing, what I have upmost in my mind is creating a FEELING, portraying an emotion but without explicitly mentioning the emotion. Doing it through description of actions, or body posture/language. For example, in Pandora's Promise, one of the characters is relieved to the point of being emotionally overwhelmed at the news that another character will not die. Instead of saying any of that, I just had the character press his palms into his face so hard that stars appeared behind his eyes. Kathryn (KL) Lancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01801435890997786332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-406419060193144228.post-37274211284050268712015-03-18T03:49:57.073-07:002015-03-18T03:49:57.073-07:00When you're showing rather than telling, do yo...When you're showing rather than telling, do you ever worry about being too wordy and boring the reader? Though I am working on 'showing' more, that's one of my biggest concerns. I realize there's some latitude in fiction but how much?<br /><br />One reader review of my first novel, 'Relic' said it felt like a police procedural to her and not the mystery/romance that she was hoping for. I never intended the book to be a romance but, in hindsight, I can see where she got the idea that it would contain those elements given my description of the book. When I finished it, it was nearly 68,000 words. Fleshing out all of the parts that would have built the romance between the two leads would have made it unwieldy for future paperback publication. Since it's a series, I made the decision to just get better at showing the blossoming love story between my two leads as the romance subplot advances through the books. Does that seem wrong?Anne Haganhttp://www.annehaganauthor.comnoreply@blogger.com