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"Show Don't Tell" practice exercises
"Show Don't Tell" practice exercises
Frequently "Show Don't Tell" is one of the most difficult of the writing rules to wrap your head around, so below are:
1) some extra resources to wrap your head around the concept, and then
2) three quick writing exercises to help you practice putting more "show" in your writing!
Show Don't Tell overview
Show Don't Tell overview
Benjamin gives a BUNCH of examples of how to transform your sentences from "telling" to "showing."
Quick practice!
Quick practice!
Each one of these writing exercises should be done as a QUICK write...set a timer for 5-8 minutes for each one, but keep writing THE WHOLE TIME. The idea here is to keep putting ideas down on paper, and to eliminate that self-censoring voice!
Exercise #1
Exercise #1
Select a historical figure or celebrity that you are super interested in. Then, write a key story from their life with as many sensory details and strong verbs as you can pack in!
Exercise #2
Exercise #2
Pick a favorite holiday or ritual that you engage in with friends and family. Describe the experience of being there - make sure I can smell, taste, hear, and feel all the experiences as you describe them!
Exercise #3
Exercise #3
Tell the story of what has happened to this boy. Be as descriptive as possible.
Argument practice exercises
Argument practice exercises
Do some of these if you're interested in improving your argumentation techniques!
Exercise #1: Write a practice editorial
Exercise #1: Write a practice editorial
First, watch this video from an editor at the New York Times giving tips and ideas for how to write a good newspaper editorial.
Now, look at an editorial contest that the New York Times held for student a couple of years ago. On this page are the rules of the contest, sample winning editorials from the year before, and a rubric for how they judged entries.
After you look over the resources, try it out - write an entry for this contest!
Exercise #2: Practice for different rhetorical situations
Exercise #2: Practice for different rhetorical situations
Pick a topic from this New York Times list of 401 argumentative prompts:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/learning/lesson-plans/401-prompts-for-argumentative-writing.html
Then, brainstorm two different stakeholder audiences for the argument. For example:
If I selected the prompt "Do Machines Represent a Threat to Humans?" one audience for that argument who cares about the subject could be a robotics engineer lab at Google who develop machines, while another audience who cares about the topic could be factory workers at a Ford Motor factory who worry about being replaced by machines.
If I selected the prompt "How Should Children be Taught about Puberty and Sex," one audience could be middle school teachers who are responsible for doing the teaching, while a different audience could be parents of the children.
Then, write arguments for each of your audiences, changing up your claims, evidence/examples, warrants/reasons, and appeals (ethos, pathos, logos) to suit whichever audience you are arguing to!
Exercise #3: Try mimicking an unusual argument structure
Exercise #3: Try mimicking an unusual argument structure
Here are two examples of arguments put together in an usual way!
Pete Well's restaurant review
Pete Well's restaurant review
In this restaurant review, Pete Wells makes his case about whether you should visit the restaurant entirely in questions!
Pick one of the two arguments, and use it as a model for you to write your own unusual argument! Try out their techniques:
Tons of rhetorical questions in a row
Making claims through anecdote/storytelling
Saving your thesis until the end
Voice exercises
Voice exercises
Do some of these if you're interested in improving your writing voice and in making your writing more vivid!
Exercise #1: Using details to tell a story
Exercise #1: Using details to tell a story
Start this exercise by selecting a story from your own life that you would like to tell.
Start this exercise by selecting a story from your own life that you would like to tell.
Your story can be about anything, as long as it's a memory that's vivid and important to you!
Details exercise #1: Listing
Details exercise #1: Listing
Grab a piece of scratch paper
Set a timer for 5 minutes
Think about WHERE this memory took place: outside? inside? In a room? In the car? etc. etc.
Make a bullet point list of every object you can think of that was in that room, no matter how big or small - keep making bullet points for every single object you can think of until the 5 minute timer goes off!
Select 8-10 objects off of your list that really hint at the emotions of your memory
Write a short paragraph retelling a key piece of the memory that includes your list of objects!
Details exercise #2: Three versions
Details exercise #2: Three versions
Grab some scratch paper
Set a timer for 12 minutes
Think about how you might want to introduce the reader to the situation - what important things might you want to set up right from the get-go?
You're going to experiment introducing the story 3 different ways - each intro should be different!
You could start with a description of place
You could start with a quote, or a piece of dialogue
You could start at the beginning of the story (or whatever you perceive to be the beginning), and you could also start in the middle or at the end
You could start with a list
You could start with a mysterious or intriguing object or symbol
Spend 4 minutes writing each intro
Once you're done, read back over your three versions, and think about how the versions highlight certain aspects of the story. Which one is the most emotional? Which one is the most evocative? Which one sets up the themes of the memory the best?
Exercise #2: Try writing in the style of a character
Exercise #2: Try writing in the style of a character
Select one of the photos below, and make up a backstory for that person. Decide on things like:
What do they care most about in life?
What are their hobbies/interests?
Are they introverted/extroverted?
Who do they feel closest to in life?
Etc. etc.
Once you've decided on a backstory to your character, write a journal entry about what happened to them yesterday. Try to make their voice as distinct and clear as you can! Ways you can make their voice distinct:
Think about what kinds of vocab they would use
How short/long would their sentences be?
What kind of tone do they like to talk in (more formal, more informal, chatty, friendly and open, closed off a bit??)
Etc.
Exercise #3: Selecting your words very carefully
Exercise #3: Selecting your words very carefully
Frequently success in argumentation involves selecting the most powerful and evocative words you can and employing them the quickest way possible! Practice doing this by trying these exercises that force you to select your words very carefully!
Op-ed writing
Op-ed writing
Suppose that you are a journalist for the New York Times, and you have been asked by your editor to write a short think-piece on an important issue today. The problem is that they only have a short amount of space left in tomorrow's paper! So you have to keep your op-ed to 100 words or less. Write as complete an and powerful argument as you can using only 100 words. Eliminate as many extra words as you can, and make sure every word that stays is as powerful and vivid as possible!
Consider connotations
Consider connotations
Frequently, the words we select to describe something give away clues to how we view that thing. For example, if I say "Look at that new phone you got!" that's going to convey something very different than if I say "Look at that newfangled contraption you have!"
Select one of the word sets below. Then, write a short description of a person, object, or situation using the first word. Then, write a second short description of that same person/object/situation, but switch it up and create a different tone using one of the other words as well as other new adjectives, etc. to describe it.
curious, nosy, interested
lazy, relaxed, slow
courageous, foolhardy, assured
spinster, unmarried woman, career woman
giggle, laugh, cackle
notable, notorious, famous
assertive, confident, pushy
Exercise #4: Do a self-reflection writing exercise
Exercise #4: Do a self-reflection writing exercise
A lot of finding your own writing voice is thinking through some self-reflection questions. Start by thinking through these questions:
Describe yourself in three adjectives. Example: snarky, fun, and flirty.
Look at something you've already written and ask (and answer) the question: “Is this how I talk?”
Imagine your ideal reader. Describe them in detail. Then, write to them, and only them. Example: My ideal reader is smart. He has a sense of humor, a short attention span, and is pretty savvy when it comes to technology and pop culture. He's sarcastic and fun, but doesn't like to waste time. And he loves pizza.
Jot down at least five books, articles, or blogs you like to read. Spend some time examining them. How are they alike? How are they different? What about how they're written intrigues you? Often what we admire is what we aspire to be. Example: Copyblogger, Chris Brogan, Seth Godin, Ernest Hemingway, and C.S. Lewis. I like these writers, because their writing is intelligent, pithy, and emotional.
List your favorite artistic and cultural influences. Are you using these as references in your writing? Or have your been avoiding them, because you don't think people would understand them? Example: I use some of my favorite bands' music in my writing to teach deeper lessons.
Ask other people who know you: “What's my voice? What do I sound like?” Take notes of the answers you get.
Free-write. Just go nuts. Write in a way that's most comfortable to you, without editing. Then go back and read it, asking yourself, “Do I turn in stuff that sounds like this?”
Read something you've recently written, and honestly ask yourself, “Is this something I would read?” If not, you must change your voice.
Ask yourself: “Do I enjoy what I'm writing as I'm writing it?” If it feels like work, you may not be writing like yourself. (Caveat: Not every writer loves the act of writing, but it's at least worth asking.)
Pay attention to how you're feeling. How do you feel before turning something in? Afraid? Nervous? Worried? Good. You're on the right track. If you're completely calm, then you probably aren't being creative enough. Try writing something dangerous, something a little more you. Fear can be good. It motivates you to make your writing matter.
Now that you've reflected, write something that is entirely in your own voice! Make sure to include:
References to stuff you love (bands/music, movies, tv, food, etc). Don't explain the references - just drop them in like everyone will understand them!
Use ALL your language - put slang in, curse if you want, use words from Spanish, Vietnamese, Urdu - whatever other languages you speak, etc. etc.
Try to strike the tone of your 3 words that you described yourself as in Step 1.
Consider how you speak - do you talk with more short, choppy sentences? Do you tend to go on and on and on and ramble a bit? Reflect that style in your sentence structure!
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