In May, at Grub Street's annual writing conference, The Muse and the Marketplace, I sat in on a lively workshop taught by writer Steve Almond. If you've heard of The Rumpus's "Dear Sugar," you'll know Steve (and his co-writer, Cheryl Strayed). His workshop was about stuff we know that we need to unlearn. Forget. Let go of. Set aside. He focused specifically on a rule that's dear to many writers, "show, don't tell." Steve feels this is a crock and he's not mincing words to tell you why. We ran through examples from published authors who used telling skillfully--and some examples of showing that didn't make the mark at all.
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