"A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings but a cat does not." -Ernest Hemingway

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Showing is Believing: Grasp the Principle of Filtering and Never Tell Again

All writers start out as beginners.  Whether they spent years in school or ventured out on their own in search of their dreams, there was an invisible start line etched across the beginning of their pathway to a writer’s life.
Like many beginning authors, I started out writing all my stories in first person (read my post hereand ended every line of dialogue with an attribution of either she said, he said or they cried! (read my post about it here)
Then there was the infamous challenge of overcoming the don’t tell ‘em, show ’em syndrome.  If you ever find yourself wondering how in the world can you show something to the reader without telling them, then you are not alone.    
For example: It’s easy to think if my character has walked into a room and sat in a chair by the window and looked out and saw her neighbor fall to the ground that the only way my readers are going to know they fell is if I write the scene like this:
{Mary made her way to the chair by the window and graciously sat down.  She looked out the window and saw her neighbor, Mr. Pepper, standing in his front yard.  She noticed a strange look on his face and then she saw him clutch his chest and fall to his knees.}

In writing fiction, you will often times be writing through some observing consciousness and when you ask the reader to observe the observer, you start to tell not show and inadvertently get in their line of sight.  
By removing the filters, you allow your readers to remain inside the character’s stream of consciousness.  
Let’s explore:
The filter is a common error and as a beginning writer, difficult to recognize.  Even experienced writers can still fall prey to the natural urge to tell not show syndrome, but once you grasp the principle of filtering it’s an exciting way to make your writing more vivid.  
Taking our example from above (I’ve highlighted the filters) and then removed them to “show” how our scene can be more vivid.  
With filters:
  {Mary made her way to the chair by the window and graciously sat down.  She looked out the window and saw her neighbor, Mr. Pepper, standing in his front yard.  She noticed a strange look on his face and then she saw him clutch his chest and fall to his knees.}
Filters removed:
{Mary made her way to the chair by the window and graciously sat down. Across the street her neighbor, Mr. Pepper, was standing in his front yard with a strange look on his face. Suddenly, he clutched his chest and fell to his knees.}
Notice how in the revised version with the filters removed, it reads as though you are Mary observing the scene and not someone standing next to you telling you what she was seeing.  
So, the next time you are self-editing your story, make a mental note to watch for filters and experiment by removing them.  You just might be amazed how vivid your scene becomes!
How about you have you learned to spot filters (or perhaps you refer to them as something else)?  If so, I would love to have you share how it has improved your writing.
Until next time,
Keep on thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!
T.K. Millin 

4 comments:

  1. Good information, T.K.! Thanks for sharing it with us.

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    1. You are welcome Cindy, I know when I learned to recognize filters it vastly improved my writing! Enjoyed sharing :)

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  2. Yes indeedy, T.K.! Great information. I think all writers do it to a degree, unfortunately.

    Good news: I fed your fish again. Damn, do I care or what?!

    Blaze

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  3. Blaze, thanks for stopping by and feeding the fishes, their hungry. Now I just have to bring them some friends! Yes, all writers do write fillers (I have to admit even I do do) but it does help to know how to spot them when you self-edit. Thanks for commenting.

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