: Re: How do I write "Show, Don't Tell" as a person with Asperger Syndrome? I have been told by my friends that my writing seems a bit blunt in the sense of I rarely practice "Show, Don't Tell"

Dialogue as a Way to "Show" Actions or Feelings

There are books (Asimov's Foundation trilogy, for example) that rely heavily on dialogue rather than visual detail or authorial exposition to advance the story. The admonition to show-not-tell is a rule of thumb, not an iron-clad rule, and is intended to invite reader participation or plot advancement without pre-digesting everything for the reader. In fiction, you generally want to engage the reader's thoughts and imagination, rather than telling the reader what to think or feel.

Consider a snippet of dialogue like:

"I was really surprised when you told me you couldn't come to my party," said Judy.

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," Amy replied. "Can I give you a hug to make it up to you?"

While this could be written in a lot of ways, the snippet is deliberately structured as dialogue with actions and visual elements only spoken or implied. There's still an emotional context, but the fine details have been left to the reader to conjure in their mind's eye. Contrast this with authorial exposition like:

Judy was sad Amy skipped her party. Amy apologized and offered her a hug.

This is pre-digested by the author, and tells the reader what Judy felt and Amy did, rather than showing the scene or interaction. It's quick and rather dry. In context, this might be exactly what a story needs, but too much of it is likely to reduce reactions by the reader, leading to reduced investment in the story.

Fiction readers generally want to feel like they are actively part of the story. To maintain immersion, authors generally create an emotional context for readers to react to. Use whatever narrative structures work for you to do this, but be sure they work for the target audience, too. If you aren't able to engage your readers in this way, you might consider other forms of writing, other genres, or other topics that are a more comfortable fit for your unique skills as a writer. That's not a writing fail; that's just writing diversity.

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: Re: How do I write "Show, Don't Tell" as a person with Asperger Syndrome? I have been told by my friends that my writing seems a bit blunt in the sense of I rarely practice "Show, Don't Tell"

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