Show; Don't tell.

^

  • yay (yes)

    Votes: 3 27.3%
  • nay (no)

    Votes: 2 18.2%
  • can't really say (stupid question, not going to bother with it)

    Votes: 6 54.5%

  • Total voters
    11

Osulagh

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Yep. Actually, far more than you think.
 
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Magdalen

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"Telling" can be an intimate exchange - give me a glass of something & I'll listen to just about anything! "Showing" (a literary device that is quite effective) through methods of description & other sensory content seems to indicate an advanced ability to involve the reader or audience. My preferences for reading rather than listening, whether it's poetry & prose, differ slightly - still I am just about always willing to show you mine if you show me yours!!!!
 
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Each has its place, purpose and effect in ANY form of creative writing.

A novel that consisted entirely of showing would be a thousand pages long and very, very boring.

"Show, don't tell," is used as a mantra by too many writers without any understanding of the reasons behind it - my pet peeve.
 
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Steppe

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If the poem is well written and I accept the language, I rarely can tell the difference between them. I think it's only when it's poorly done that we harp on it.
 

C.bronco

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A poem is a postcard; a snapshot of an experience or state. It is a little piece that represents the whole. Sensory, emotiinal and rational should all be there in order to get the message across.
 

Ken

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Yep. Actually, far more than you think.

Yeah. I tend to believe so too. Still, in many poems I've read there is a lot of telling. Hardly any detail or showing, at all. So am just wondering. Would these poems be more effective if things were gotten across thru showing, e.g. instead of the word meadow some details that get that setting across and create more of a picture of the place? If telling suits a poem that's fine. It does with some. Wallace Stephens, etc. But maybe some poets just miss the point and just don't realize their poems would be stronger and more effective with some more showing or concreteness. Again, just wondering. Not making any statements about how things should or shouldn't be.
 

Xelebes

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A poem is a postcard; a snapshot of an experience or state. It is a little piece that represents the whole. Sensory, emotiinal and rational should all be there in order to get the message across.

That only works for some poems. A whole broad swath of poems are neither snapshots nor postcards; neither synecdochical replacements for novels or efforts relegated to describing the sensory, emotional or rational.
 

JustSarah

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I had to think about this one, as poetry is written differently from prose. Like I would say yes, though I'd have to find a way to do it in fewer words. Someone more experienced than I may know how to do this.

Like I can't imagine trying it in 2 - 3 - 2 syllabic chains.

In my experience, I've found that the shorter the syllabic pattern the harder it is to show.

Not a stupid question, quiet excellent actually.
 
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Thewitt

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Yet another overused "truism" that locks writers into the same old, same old.

Use whatever mode works for your writing and leave the judgement to the reader, not an academic writer.
 

William Haskins

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and the poet compels the poem.

of course. i wasn't suggesting the poem takes on any powers of self-determination in and of itself.

to clarify my position: an individual poem, in my opinion, requires (in order to be effective), some balance of show vs tell, and this can vary depending on any number of factors.

the poet is accountable for this determination and, thereby, the success of the poem.
 

kborsden

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of course. i wasn't suggesting the poem takes on any powers of self-determination in and of itself.

to clarify my position: an individual poem, in my opinion, requires (in order to be effective), some balance of show vs tell, and this can vary depending on any number of factors.

the poet is accountable for this determination and, thereby, the success of the poem.

I agree... you know me, I'm not one for formulaic ideologies. As others have said, there's too much of that and the problem with writing circles is that for all the benefits of many eyes and varied feedback, there's also an underlying incestuous nature that can become harmful when such mantras become understood as law or 'rules' -- ugh -- there's plenty to be said for fitting to a cadre and using the combined knowledge and experience to patch holes and improve--and equally for finding your own route.

What have I written and does it work? That's should be the first question, not, should I be showing/telling?

If we take a cross section of any successful poet's work, variance in style and methodology is always visible--and any poet should strive to expand what and how they write.
 

AMCrenshaw

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The first question I'd ask a poet who asked me this question of show/tell:

What is the subject of the poem?

Then I say:

Instead of show/tell, I prefer the continuum of heavy detail and minimal detail. Detail about events, actions, emotional states, whatever.

Still I'd like to answer the OP:

"Telling" (so frowned upon these days) is the barest level of necessary detail that still permits basic comprehension of a text.

"Showing" always builds up/out from "telling"

A professor and I once spoke of 'narrative doors' (I'm repurposing and paraphrasing both) - Imagine you're walking in a vast hallway. The eventual goal is to make it to the other side of the hallway. There are doors in the hallway. Closed. Do I rush through the hallway? Or do I open the doors and explore what is behind them?

I must add: Poetry, taking a billion forms, might be just one broken line and still be an effective communication.

So if above I asked: what is the subject of the poem, I might now ask: what is the goal or objective of the poem? What is the purpose of its expression ?
 

poetinahat

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To me, that's like asking, "Should I use a hammer?"

It depends on how nail-like your objective is. And whether your shoe has a sturdy heel.