Grammar Girl here, today we're going to learn about the old writing adage, Show Don't Tell.

Brenda is a teacher in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and she asked me to help her students understand

why they should try to show their reader's images rather than just tell them facts.

She says, quote, a problem shared by novice writers is the inability to provide specific

detail. LSD, lacking specific detail, is an acronym made up by an English teacher friend

of mine. Frequently, students' law papers covered with the comment, LSD, because the writing

is general and vague, unquote. I confirmed with Brenda that what she's trying to convey

to her students is the old writing adage, Show Don't Tell. Good writing tends to draw an

image in the reader's mind, instead of just telling the reader what to think or believe.

Here's a sentence that tells, Mr. Bob Weave was a fat, ungrateful old man.

That gets the information across, but it's boring. It simply tells the reader the basics about Mr. Bob

Weave. Here's a way to create an image of Mr. Bob Weave in the reader's mind. Mr. Bob Weave

heaved himself out of the chair. As his feet spread under his apple-like frame and his

arthritic knees popped and cracked in objection, he pounded the floor with his cane while cursing

that dreadful girl who was late again with his coffee. In the second example, I didn't tell you

Mr. Bob Weave is fat. I showed it by writing that his feet spread and describing his apple-like

frame. I didn't tell you Mr. Bob Weave is old. I showed it by mentioning his arthritic knees,

his cane, and that he has a girl who tends him. And I didn't tell you he's ungrateful,

but with the impatience of a pounding cane and his disdain for his caregiver,

I got you thinking that he may not be a very nice man. A story that's filled with such detailed

descriptions could become tiresome, so just as you mix long sentences with short sentences

to create variety and keep your readers interested, it's often wise to mix sections that show

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