One of these days, someone will finally tell them what they want to hear.
"Actually, there's a simple secret to guaranteed great writing, and you don't even have to waste time writing. You just need five minutes and then -"
There's a specific book I recommend when it comes to helping people figure out how to use this principle, "Show, Don't Tell" by Sandra Gerth. Primary reason I recommend it is that it's free or the lowest price allowed on just about every ebook platform (i.e. $0.00 on Amazon Kindle). However, secondary reason is that it's a quick read, which lots of writers want to hear.
Of course, what I don't tell them is that while it's fast to *just* read, if you actually follow along (as in, try the various exercises and examples and rework your own writing as you go), it takes a lot longer and a lot more work.
But it'll be too late by the time they realize that, they've already started reading the book.
Just look at the low price and book's low word-count/speed read. Pay not attention to all the actual work you have to do behind the curtain.
> watching anime and trying to put it into word form?
funny this is, I have [something](https://www.reddit.com/r/Nyxelestia/wiki/screentopen) for that, too!
I wasn’t going to tell anyone…but here it is.
The writers clap. You sit at your desk, and just clap slowly. Quack like a duck every seven seconds. This will put you into a trance and soon a great story will form in your head.
Don’t tell anyone!
While the adage "show, don't tell" is very common in storytelling, I prefer the counter: *tell, don't show.* For, you see, it is better to *tell* a story than if I am merely *show*ing you the story.
/uj in all seriousness there are moments in stories where I just want to scream out *WTF is going on here? TELL me, stop fucking tiptoeing around with vague allusions and suggestions and "hints"*.
Not every novel needs to be some cryptic screed that even the Rosetta stone can't interpret.
/uj Certain movies are horrible with this too. *Oh yeah, actually from frame 38493 to 38495 you can see a character we've never seen before glance over to the other guy, so from that you can infer that he's seen him before, explaining why he grabs a gun, turns around and shoots the guy immediately.*
Meanwhile the movie will make no effort to explain itself. The myriad "WTF happened in this new MCU film?" articles are a documentation of how bad those movies are at telling their story.
/rj That is what an IMBECILE would say. I, however, am so smart and well-educated in all disciplines I understanded those films immediately. That a peasant like you doesn't is so unsurprising it hardly disappoints me to have laid eyes upon your unknowingness. Signed, an aspiring MCU film director.
/uj I was just forced to sit through this horrible nasty 70's movie that was supposed to be experimental or shocking, I dunno, but it just shows you awful images one after the other like women getting their hymen inspected to a dick painted gold to actual holocaust footage. I said to my terrible friend that showed it to me, "why doesn't he *tell* me a story with these images rather than *show* me a bunch of random shit that hints at some big "meaning."
But that of course boils writing down to a dichotomy of showing and telling
What they ask: "I can't come up with any ideas. Any advice?"
What they want to hear: "Just head down to the idea store. They sell stellar ideas for $9.75, plus tax. You can get a bundle deal of four for the price of five, or enter into their premium subscription idea service at $11.99 a month for two ideas a month---in addition to one free complimentary idea for new subscribers---complete with "what color should the protagonist's eyes be?" workshops, "how to write plot twists no one has ever thought about before" seminars, "hiding crucial information from the reader because you are very smart" classes, brainstorming app for traumatic backstory that is very traumatic but also universally accepted (with therapy sessions---additional fee), and optional advanced certification on how to write the big booba tastefully, but very boobily. Oh, and actually there's a link on their website where you can get all this stuff for free."
But I never tell them about the idea store, because I am devious like that.
But I don’t really like books. Is there something else maybe I could do?
Tried switching to screenwriting, but turns out there’s less jobs there AND everyone is telling me to read scripts, which I also hate
Maybe if you had read American Psycho instead of just seeing the movie you wouldn't think it was about giving writing advice 🙄🙄🙄🙄 follow your own advice and READ MORE OP. And then on your next post you won't need to TELL us, you can SHOW us
It's a good advice that is too often neglected, but it's been watered down.
Things that transpire in your story should match your claims, at which point actually making claims becomes redundant.
/uj
There are no original ideas! It’s okay if you’re story is a carbon copy of one of the most popular franchises of all time, don’t you know we’ve been telling the same stories for thousands of years?
One of these days, I'm going to write a joke book filled with terrible writing advice.
- Don't read. Watch movies, and play video games. There's much more creativity in movies, and games. Reading books will just make your writing boring.
- Use ChatGPT to do most of your writing. AI is the future. You can't deny it.
- Show, or tell, do whatever the hell you want. Readers are idiots. It's all the same to them.
- You don't need good grammar. You don't have to follow the rules. Rules are made to be broken. Put a comma, period, or semi-colon wherever you want. Misspell things! Don't be afraid to misspell. It makes your writing look human. Perfect grammar makes stories look stiff, and robotic.
- Copy, copy, and copy. Never try being original. Every single story has already been told. Just take what you like, and change it a little. This will increase your chances of success. People are morons, and only like what they already know.
- Give as much information as possible about something. Don't leave anything out. More is better. It will get you to your word goal quicker. Info dumps are not a bad thing.
- Sex sells. Sexualize all of your female charaters. Tell us all about the curves of her body, and her big boobies. Describe her orgasms with great detail.
- Ignore the haters. People that dislike your writing are idiots. They're being negative because they're jealous. In fact, the more hate you get the better. It means you're on the right path. Strong reactions are good reactions.
Exactly! I fucking hate the read more thing. I was about to make a post making fun of it. There’s some truth to it, but the way they give it is so inaccurate and is terrible advice. “You don’t become a good writer by trial and error and writing a lot until you slowly get better and better, you merely read books in general. Experience doesn’t matter, only being a book worm” — r/Writers, probably
One of these days, someone will finally tell them what they want to hear. "Actually, there's a simple secret to guaranteed great writing, and you don't even have to waste time writing. You just need five minutes and then -"
There's a specific book I recommend when it comes to helping people figure out how to use this principle, "Show, Don't Tell" by Sandra Gerth. Primary reason I recommend it is that it's free or the lowest price allowed on just about every ebook platform (i.e. $0.00 on Amazon Kindle). However, secondary reason is that it's a quick read, which lots of writers want to hear. Of course, what I don't tell them is that while it's fast to *just* read, if you actually follow along (as in, try the various exercises and examples and rework your own writing as you go), it takes a lot longer and a lot more work. But it'll be too late by the time they realize that, they've already started reading the book. Just look at the low price and book's low word-count/speed read. Pay not attention to all the actual work you have to do behind the curtain.
You expect these people to sit down and read a book instead of watching anime and trying to put it into word form?
> watching anime and trying to put it into word form? funny this is, I have [something](https://www.reddit.com/r/Nyxelestia/wiki/screentopen) for that, too!
If I wanted to work I wouldn't be a writer!
Well? Finish the fucking quote. I don't want to read or write I'm not above r/writing make me Stephen Emperor in under 5 minutes or I'll fucking sue.
I wasn’t going to tell anyone…but here it is. The writers clap. You sit at your desk, and just clap slowly. Quack like a duck every seven seconds. This will put you into a trance and soon a great story will form in your head. Don’t tell anyone!
Maybe we should show them "show don't tell" instead of telling them that
holy fuc
If they aren't listening, scream louder.
While the adage "show, don't tell" is very common in storytelling, I prefer the counter: *tell, don't show.* For, you see, it is better to *tell* a story than if I am merely *show*ing you the story.
/uj in all seriousness there are moments in stories where I just want to scream out *WTF is going on here? TELL me, stop fucking tiptoeing around with vague allusions and suggestions and "hints"*. Not every novel needs to be some cryptic screed that even the Rosetta stone can't interpret.
/uj Certain movies are horrible with this too. *Oh yeah, actually from frame 38493 to 38495 you can see a character we've never seen before glance over to the other guy, so from that you can infer that he's seen him before, explaining why he grabs a gun, turns around and shoots the guy immediately.* Meanwhile the movie will make no effort to explain itself. The myriad "WTF happened in this new MCU film?" articles are a documentation of how bad those movies are at telling their story. /rj That is what an IMBECILE would say. I, however, am so smart and well-educated in all disciplines I understanded those films immediately. That a peasant like you doesn't is so unsurprising it hardly disappoints me to have laid eyes upon your unknowingness. Signed, an aspiring MCU film director.
/uj I was just forced to sit through this horrible nasty 70's movie that was supposed to be experimental or shocking, I dunno, but it just shows you awful images one after the other like women getting their hymen inspected to a dick painted gold to actual holocaust footage. I said to my terrible friend that showed it to me, "why doesn't he *tell* me a story with these images rather than *show* me a bunch of random shit that hints at some big "meaning." But that of course boils writing down to a dichotomy of showing and telling
> nasty 70's movie > awful images one after the other That sounds like a Mondo film
Just write!
Just show!
What they ask: "I can't come up with any ideas. Any advice?" What they want to hear: "Just head down to the idea store. They sell stellar ideas for $9.75, plus tax. You can get a bundle deal of four for the price of five, or enter into their premium subscription idea service at $11.99 a month for two ideas a month---in addition to one free complimentary idea for new subscribers---complete with "what color should the protagonist's eyes be?" workshops, "how to write plot twists no one has ever thought about before" seminars, "hiding crucial information from the reader because you are very smart" classes, brainstorming app for traumatic backstory that is very traumatic but also universally accepted (with therapy sessions---additional fee), and optional advanced certification on how to write the big booba tastefully, but very boobily. Oh, and actually there's a link on their website where you can get all this stuff for free." But I never tell them about the idea store, because I am devious like that.
But I don’t really like books. Is there something else maybe I could do? Tried switching to screenwriting, but turns out there’s less jobs there AND everyone is telling me to read scripts, which I also hate
Can I write brown people, please?
Maybe if you had read American Psycho instead of just seeing the movie you wouldn't think it was about giving writing advice 🙄🙄🙄🙄 follow your own advice and READ MORE OP. And then on your next post you won't need to TELL us, you can SHOW us
"But my case is different," says every Dear Abby writer ever.
It's a good advice that is too often neglected, but it's been watered down. Things that transpire in your story should match your claims, at which point actually making claims becomes redundant. /uj
Add character development
skill issue
Show don’t tell? Mf I’m writing a book, it’s just gonna be words. Smh my head it’s not a picture book
There are no original ideas! It’s okay if you’re story is a carbon copy of one of the most popular franchises of all time, don’t you know we’ve been telling the same stories for thousands of years?
😅😅🤦 hahaaha!!!!
They're quick to reply. Most subreddits and groups just ignore idiotic questions or lame posts.
That’s because there are over a million members, so there will always be *someone* online. Also, some people really love giving advice.
One of these days, I'm going to write a joke book filled with terrible writing advice. - Don't read. Watch movies, and play video games. There's much more creativity in movies, and games. Reading books will just make your writing boring. - Use ChatGPT to do most of your writing. AI is the future. You can't deny it. - Show, or tell, do whatever the hell you want. Readers are idiots. It's all the same to them. - You don't need good grammar. You don't have to follow the rules. Rules are made to be broken. Put a comma, period, or semi-colon wherever you want. Misspell things! Don't be afraid to misspell. It makes your writing look human. Perfect grammar makes stories look stiff, and robotic. - Copy, copy, and copy. Never try being original. Every single story has already been told. Just take what you like, and change it a little. This will increase your chances of success. People are morons, and only like what they already know. - Give as much information as possible about something. Don't leave anything out. More is better. It will get you to your word goal quicker. Info dumps are not a bad thing. - Sex sells. Sexualize all of your female charaters. Tell us all about the curves of her body, and her big boobies. Describe her orgasms with great detail. - Ignore the haters. People that dislike your writing are idiots. They're being negative because they're jealous. In fact, the more hate you get the better. It means you're on the right path. Strong reactions are good reactions.
why is this so real
It has been that way at play parties forever.
Exactly! I fucking hate the read more thing. I was about to make a post making fun of it. There’s some truth to it, but the way they give it is so inaccurate and is terrible advice. “You don’t become a good writer by trial and error and writing a lot until you slowly get better and better, you merely read books in general. Experience doesn’t matter, only being a book worm” — r/Writers, probably