Hello, writers! Welcome to my first Pamela’s Prompt.
Each week, I’ll share a prompt to help you jump start your writing routine or maybe even help you generate an idea for a great story, no matter your genre.
You may have heard that one of the best ways to improve your writing is to remember the adage of “show, don’t tell.” You may ask: But, what does that really mean and how can it improve my writing?
“It was a windy day” is a perfectly good sentence, but it’s nothing more than that. It is simply telling your reader that it was, well, a windy day. Let’s take it up a notch and use showing language, instead.
“Janie grabbed her sun hat to keep it from flying off her head.”
Now, we know that someone named Janie has to hold on to her hat in the wind. We are now showing the reader that it’s windy, rather than simply telling them.
Let’s continue and add some additional showing details.
“With a huff, Janie grabbed her sun hat to keep it from flying off her head as she stomped toward the dock.”
Uh oh. Now, we know that Janie is irritated, either from trying to keep her hat on her head in the wind or because she’s on her way to the dock for some unknown reason.
Let’s continue.
“With a huff, Janie grabbed her sun hat to keep it from flying off her head as she stomped toward the dock. ‘You better be there, John, she muttered.’”
Look out. Now we know that it’s a windy day and Janie is heading toward a dock to see someone called John. We don’t know what has transpired or what might happen, but we have shown the reader that there is some sort of conflict happening between Janie and John.
Bottom line: Showing language is much more interesting than telling language.
Now, it’s your turn. Set a timer for 5 to 10 minutes and free write using the prompt “It was a windy day.”
See where showing language can take your readers!
Until next time. . .
#pamelarobertshowell
#showdon’ttell
#writingprompts
#itwasawindydayy