The 'Show, Don't Tell' Monster

You’ve heard it before, a thousand times, from the instant you decided to write. Haven’t you? Show, don’t tell! The snarky little catchphrase that seems to haunt your every edit. You could have sworn you were showing in that last draft, but upon rereading...nope, you were telling. And telling. And telling. And now you feel like you’re the worst writer in the world and so why should you even bother??!

Anyone else kind of want to pull their hair out when things get like this?

I know I do. Which, I realize, does not make me the most expert of writers to preach upon such a subject. But I’ve had this three-word stalker crouching behind me for a significant chunk of years now, so I've collected a few thoughts about it. Some ways to avoid it’s breathy snarl. Because, honestly, when I first started hearing it, I had no flipping clue what these people were talking about.

Here’s some ideas on how to figure out what people mean when they throw this at you like a pitchfork in the middle of your writing group.

Editing The Bob Ross Way

Happy Trees. 

When you imagine a painter at work, does he start at one corner of the canvas and do every single detail for every single square inch, moving across the field in this manner as though putting together a puzzle? No? Then why do so many writers approach editing this way? 

Painting happens in layers. A painter will lay the bare bones of an image first--maybe some base lines with only a few colors. Then she'll add another layer that includes depth and a few more images. Then another layer for texture and even more images. You get the idea. If not, go watch this time-lapse Bob Ross video. Bob Ross is the bomb.