: Re: show-don't tell with word limit I've signed up for a short story contest where the word limit is 5000 words. In show-don't tell, one invariably uses more words showing than telling. I'm worried

The contest probably doesn't require that you submit your first draft. You are allowed to edit and abridge the tale a few times before you put it up against the competition.

So write the story properly. Showing what can be shown. Telling when you must, but if you must, tell artistically.

Let the words flow out to their full length and then begin the hard work of killing your babies. Drop everything that isn't needed and then drop what is least needed and do it again until you get down below the word limit. If possible, cut a little more to get a hundred words under the limit. Then use those hard-won words to return artistry and smoothness to your telling.

Then, unless you are also under a time limit, sleep on this second draft and look at it again with fresh eyes tomorrow.

Repeat all these steps until you have a work that not only follows all the contest guidelines, but also wins your own self-approval, even before you submit it.

That way you win no matter what the contest judges say.

Load Full (0)

: How do I write a social survival guide for asperger people? I decided to write a survival guide called "The neurotypical tyranny", for people with Asperger's syndrome. I want to write this book

@BetL639

Load Full 2 Comments

: If my main character gets powerful for each emotional trauma,How do i describe it? My main character gets more strength for each emotional trauma he face it,But his mind gets massive damage

@BetL639

Load Full 1 Comments

: How to edit story structure Iâ€™ve written a plot for a long story. But itâ€™s not easy for anybody to review because my charactersâ€™ dialogue and goals are all over the place, itâ€™s often

@BetL639

Load Full 3 Comments

: A twist is a point in the plot of a story where what the reader has assumed to be true turns out to be false or incomplete. Use this tag for questions about how to write or handle twists,

: Re: show-don't tell with word limit I've signed up for a short story contest where the word limit is 5000 words. In show-don't tell, one invariably uses more words showing than telling. I'm worried

More posts by @BetL639

: How do I write a social survival guide for asperger people? I decided to write a survival guide called "The neurotypical tyranny", for people with Asperger's syndrome. I want to write this book

: If my main character gets powerful for each emotional trauma,How do i describe it? My main character gets more strength for each emotional trauma he face it,But his mind gets massive damage

: How to edit story structure Iâ€™ve written a plot for a long story. But itâ€™s not easy for anybody to review because my charactersâ€™ dialogue and goals are all over the place, itâ€™s often

: A twist is a point in the plot of a story where what the reader has assumed to be true turns out to be false or incomplete. Use this tag for questions about how to write or handle twists,

Login to post a comment!

0 Comments

Back to top