Fantasy Writing

Lesson Five: Show, Don’t Tell

 hen writers create a scene…
W

they need to create DRAMA.

 riters sometimes use a line of
W

dialogue - making a character talk.

 nother strategy
A

is describing a small action.

 hey make a character move or
T

react to what is going on in the scene.

L ittle Red Riding Hood
 Red’s eyebrows scrunched together as she
studied her Grandma.

As Grammy talked, Red noticed her glistening

fangs dripping with drool. Grammy didn’t
look like her normal self.
Red leaned closer, her eyebrows furling as she
inspected.

Grammy didn’t look like her normal self. She

turned up her long, grey snout and sniffed the
air in Red’s vicinity.
 Insert your new dialogue and “showing” of
emotions into your existing alternate
beginning.

Then, go through and see where else you can

SHOW action and emotion in your story.

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