Details in Conversation: A Discussion

So, I'm editing like crazy these days and one thing I started to do was to add more conversation and less "Interesting Tidbits".

Here are some Writerly Jargon and I'd like to add "Interesting Tidbits" as one.

Interesting Tidbits: Those details that the Author thinks is interesting and/or creative. Those details are only there because the Author wanted to show the reader some interesting detail about the story even though that detail does not make another appearance in the story. Those details are there because the Author is boasting how creative they are.

Admit it. I do that, you do that, we all do that, we are creative writers who love to show the world how creative we can be.

Now, to get back to the topic, I have started to replace details with conversation to MAKE THEM IMPORTANT.

To give an example,

Showing vs Telling: Examples and Exercise

This is to show you what showing and telling looks like side by side. Writing these up, for me, was certainly an exercise. I really needed to pay attention to show more for "Showing" and tell more for "Telling". I hope I did them both justice. Doing an exercise like this can really open your mind up to what showing or telling exactly feel like when you write them out.

The stories themselves, short and unfinished, are not from any story I have ever written. These were written on the spot but I hope you can get a gist of what showing and telling are.

To those of you who already are experts, let me know if I got them both right. Certainly there might be some mixing going on but the "Showing" to generally be only showing the story an the "Telling" should generally be only telling the story. To me, telling is like a kid telling a parent about a dream they had. "And then, I met a cat princess. And then the princess and I became sisters. And then we were flying in the sky. And then, we found a land of marshmallows. And then..."

So here are three stories each with a "Showing" version and a "Telling" version.

Story 1: A Winter Scene with Pigeons

What Fiction Writing REALLY Is: Discussion

Fiction writing, no matter what sub-genre, is mostly writing about places you've never been or will never EVER go to.

Which is good because you can really go crazy with description, you are free to do (within the boundaries of your story of course) whatever you want. You can invite your readers into a world never thought possible or into your own world with a slight twist.

But, writing about places you've never been or will never EVER go to is also bad. Let me tell you why.