Show and Tell

If you want your writing to get to the next level, concentrate on "show and tell."

"Show and tell" is like being an eyewitness to a scene. In other words, the writer is using "real time."

"Not showing but telling" is like writing a secondhand report.

You want to draw your readers into the world you've created, make them a part of it, make them forget where they are. You have to take your readers into your world. You want your readers to be so wrapped up in your world that they're not even aware that you, the writer, exist.

But how? For example, are you describing your characters' feelings? Have you told us they're angry? irritated? morose? discouraged? puzzled? excited? happy? elated? suicidal? Then cut, cut, cut and start again. Re-write it into the dialogue, not outside it.

Keep an eye out for any places where you mention an emotion outside of dialogue. Chances are you're telling what you should show.

Source: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne & Dave King (Collins)