Lesson Five
Lesson 5: Show, Don’t Tell: Use The Senses In Your Writing
This is the fifth lesson in the How To Show And Not Tell In Short Stories course.
NOTE: If you want a downloadable, printable PDF of this course, you can buy one for a small fee from our store. The workbook is an advert-free, easy-to-download version of the online course.
In the previous lesson we discussed viewpoint and using a viewpoint character. In this lesson we’ll look at using sensory detail to ‘show’.
The reduced word count for short stories makes ‘showing’ even more important. When we use the senses, we convey tone and setting. We immerse our readers in the scene and we use their own memories to build our story.
“It was like I was there,” is the best response a reader can have to your story. Sensory details make our stories come alive and manipulates the reader to see, feel, hear, smell, and taste the elements in our story.
“Nothing revives the past so completely as a smell that was once associated with it.” ~Vladimir Nabokov
Start by listing all five senses for your character. What do they see, hear, smell, taste and touch? You don’t have to use all five senses, but choose the biggest one, or the one or two which contribute the most to your story. By using the senses, it is easier to avoid using the words hear, see, feel, touch and taste.
Example 1
Tell: She saw the white van parked at the corner again. It looked like something out of a horror movie.
Show: The white van was still there. It hunched on the corner waiting to attack.
Example 2
Tell: You open the door. The dustbin smells bad.
Show: It hits you the moment you step through the door, rancid chicken with a dash of over-ripe banana.
Exercises
Use sensory detail to ‘show’ us what your character sees, hears, smells, feels or tastes.
- The roses.
- The dump.
Recommended Read:
What’s Next?
In our next lesson we will discuss being specific when it comes to ‘showing’. We’re getting deeper into the intricacies of storytelling.
Please click here for Lesson Six
NOTE: If you want a downloadable, printable PDF of this course, you can buy one for a small fee from our store. The workbook is an advert-free, easy-to-download version of the online course.