Lesson Three
Lesson 3: Zoom In On Your Story As You Write
This is the third lesson in the How To Show And Not Tell In Short Stories course.
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In the previous lesson we looked at expressing emotion as action. This technique helps to make our words do double-duty. Now, we will focus on the scope of the story.
Not only is a short story short, but it also has a simplified scope. Yes, we can reference bigger events, but zooming in makes it easier to ‘show’, and to make an emotional connection.
Sometimes, we try to tell stories that are too big, and we have to gloss over things, which forces us to tell. Think about the Second World War. It was a huge event spanning continents, countries, and years. We can’t tell all of that in a short story. We need to select an event, or a moment, and focus on highlighting our theme, or our idea. We have to ‘write small’.
“The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance.” ~Richard Price
Writing small means zooming in and telling the story up close. Depending on the length on the story, I prefer to keep it to one or two scenes.
Example 1
Tell: Many soldiers died in World War Two. His brother included.
Show: Searching for his brother’s familiar face, he tripped over the hand that protruded from the pile of dead soldiers.
Example 2
Tell: The rent was due, and she was already many weeks behind.
Show: She hid behind the counter until he stopped banging on the door. He slid the envelope through the letter box. It landed on the floor and the red words glared at her: ‘Eviction Notice’.
Remember, by reducing a story to a single event or moment we can allude to what came before, and after it, and not have to explain every detail. The reader can fill in the gaps. A close-up makes your story very effective.
Exercises
Zoom in on your story. Rewrite these ‘telling’ sentences as ‘showing’ sentences instead.
- The Vietnam War was bad.
- Christmas was a depressing time for many people.
Recommended Reads:
What’s Next?
In the next lesson we will discuss viewpoint characters and how they help you ‘show’.
Click here for Lesson Four
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.