In college, one of my creative writing professors regularly gave us this advice: Show, don’t tell.
That is, don’t tell the reader that your character is in grief—talk the gray clouds overhead and lines furrowing her brow. Don’t tell your reader that it was a beautiful day—describe what you saw, the way the sunlight felt on your skin, the scents that wafted through the air. Don’t write a poem telling the reader how joyful you felt on your first date—paint a picture of the candle-lit restaurant and the glint in your crush’s eyes.
Images invite the reader into the meaning. The more vividly their imagination is sparked, the more deeply what you are communicating will go.
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