Writing is fun and if you are really good at it, it can be rather lucrative. We all have those dreams of being a best selling author who has their books made into movies.

How do you get your writing to be that great? Well in order to be a great writer one must be a great reader. You know as a reader what makes you smile and what makes you frown.

As the writer your job is the same. While writing you must feel the emotions through the paper just as your character does. The strong emotions conveyed makes for a phenomenal read.

There doesn’t have to be so much detail meaning the type of plush carpet her perfectly manicured toes stepped on as she watched some expensive brand name large flat screen tv. This is where as a writer we must fully understand show versus telling.

What is show versus telling? Well according to Writer’s Digest, in your writing, “it’s easy to “over-share” the minutiae of your story’s background and your characters’ lives when writing a novel”. To write and not have to worry if you are telling too much there is a balance of showing and telling. These are some basic tips that are very useful.

•Be brief. Make sure that all of your “telling” details are actually necessary to advance the plot, either by developing backstory, establishing the mood/tone, or describing the setting.

•Avoid the dreaded “info dump.” Don’t overwhelm your reader with information in your story’s first few pages. Focus on capturing her attention with a compelling character and an interesting situation, then fold in the details as the plot develops.

•Steer clear of cliches. Never start a story with a character waking up and starting his day—unless you want to put your reader to sleep.

Also when writing dialogue the show versus tell rule applies as well. Below is a sample courtesy of World Literary Cafe.

Showing in dialogue

Bad:“I want you to stay inside!” exclaimed Mom angrily as she walked up to her.
“No! I don’t want to,” argued Jenny sarcastically as she smiled coyly. “You can’t make me,” replied Jen calmly.

First, let’s take a look at the redundant and telling (summarizing) dialogue tags. “Exclaimed” isn’t necessary when there’s an exclamation mark. “Replied” is also redundant because it’s clear that she is replying to her. Use “said” instead. The adverbs angrily, sarcastically, and coyly just summarize instead of describing the action that could show the readers.

So if you adhere to the basic rules of writing and strive for writing perfection, it is something that is obtainable through experience. No one is born a fabulous writer. That comes with time but staying on the ball and wanting to master your craft keeps you in the know.

Happy Writing!

Kisha Green is a Author/Publisher who has a passion for writing and sharing her witty personality with many through social media. For more info about Kisha, visit her website www.divabooksinconline.com and you can also follow her on Twitter @KishaGreen

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