Golden Rule of Writing

How to take your writing from good to the best

I have read my fair share of books, and although I definitely do not consider myself an expert at writing, there is a Golden Rule I follow which really do take my stories to the next level.

The 'Show, don't tell' Rule

This I think is the most important. The 'Show, don't tell' rule basically means that rather than stating exactly what a character is feeling or seeing ect., you should describe signs or things which allow the reader to deduce it for themselves.

For example:

Rather than saying:

"Katie was scared to speak in front of the class."

You could say:

"Katie paled at the thought of speaking in front of her entire class."

or "Katie swallowed back the bile that threatened to come up as she waited for her turn to speak in front of her class."

This rule can also be used to enhance what the reader is feeling. For example, when describing a monster, rather than going into specific detail of how it looks, you could describe rather the feeling the character got from it.

For Example

rather than saying:

"The monster looked like a stretched out corpse, it's eyes gone, in it's place were black hollows. Smelling vile, and had a raspy voice."

You could say:

"Ben felt his stomach drop at the sight of the beast. it towered over him, like a corpse come back from hell to seek his revenge. The scent of rotting flesh and dirt burned his nose, choking him. It's laboured breaths reminded him of how his great aunt Judy, who smoked like a chimney, had sounded on her deathbed. he pinched himself, praying to God this was a nightmare, but he knew it wasn't. No nightmare could conjure up such a ghastly demon."

You see how I still described the creature, but made it vague enough that the reader can interpret it to what they imagine the monster to look like in order to be that terrifying.

The show don't tell rule will not only make your writing even better but it will also force you to think about what your character is feeling more, hence allowing you to fully understand and better enhance your character.

I hope this helps, and let me know if you want more writing tips!

Yours truly

Kylie ;)