Learning to show and not tell comes with practice. I’ll never forget the first time I shared some of my work for critique. Truth be told it scared me. When I hit “post” and I knew others could read it, my emotions went on a wild roller coaster ride. Excited. Yes, excited. For more than one reason. First of all, I had something to post. I had blossoming characters I cared about. The main character had layers of personal struggles and one close friend. But fear tempered my excitement. I feared people wouldn’t like my writing. Might even tell me something worse than that…like I wasn’t a writer at all. I know it sounds silly, but putting your writing out there for others to read isn’t easy. It’s often a roadblock for writers who hide their stories away unsubmitted in files on their computer never to be read by another human. This is worse than writer's block!

 

Waiting for feedback

Waiting for feedback gave way to worry. Again, I worried it would be torn to shreds by criticism. But then I came full circle and reminded myself that I did like the story, and I thought others would too. Not everyone, but out there, others would like the story. Around and around my emotions whisked me along a path where self-doubt and self-confidence collided.

Finally, feedback came. All the people who offered their critiques did it with kindness. They let me know what they liked. The strong elements. That just thrilled me. People said the story held promise. But along with all the positive feedback, what many of them said in one way or another was it would be even better if I told less and showed more.

I admit I didn’t like hearing that. I thought I was showing. With my defensive hackles raised, I went back to my story and reread it. I didn’t see “the telling” they were seeing. I picked up Stephen King’s On Writing, and it taught me a lot and I gained a deeper understanding of the meaning of show don't tell. The critiques did me a favor by being honest. It helped me grow as a writer.

 

Take a risk -- submit your work

Over time, I started submitting my work knowing that rejections come way more often than acceptances. I didn’t let it stop me. If I didn’t submit it, I knew for sure it would not be published. And when accepted! Wow! You had to scrape me off the ceiling to get me back down to earth. I have to tell you; acceptances don’t get old. I’m excited every time.

 

Today’s Writing Prompt

With all that said, today’s writing prompt is a different type of writing exercise. Instead of writing something new, you will share something you’ve already written with someone else in one of the following ways:

• With a writing group (this can be virtual or in-person)
• Take a class that allows you to share your work with peers
• Check writer’s guidelines for a suitable market and submit something you’ve already written for publication
• Attend a writer’s conference that provides critiques

Don’t panic. You've already done the hard part. You wrote it! You can do this. Submit your work!

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