Don't tell me, show me

Years ago, a friend of mine wanted to write a novel — basically an autobiography — to explain his relationship with his father. I told him then that he was telling me that his father was a bad man; instead, he needed to show me. He had to include the harsh words, the raised hand or whatever. I'm not sure he understood what I meant; he was surprised I knew so much about writing.

Another friend of mine proudly gave me a copy of his novel to read. It, too, was biographical, and he was certain it'd be a bestseller.

Maybe it will be; I don't know. The story line was interesting, but I noticed that he kept telling me that the lady was beautiful. He never once talked about how her brown hair dipped over an eye enticingly or how her short skirts showed off her legs. Worst of all, there was no conversation, no dialogue. It was all from his point. It's bad when a book is mostly dialogue and no action, but it's a killer to write a novel with no dialogue.

I can't complain, though. I've tried my hand at novel writing, and I find that I'm a better newspaper or magazine or non-fiction writer. I'm good at editing novels; I just haven't been able to write them.

So far, neither have my friends.

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com or nc3022@yahoo.com. TWITTER: EDITORatWORK.
 

More EDITOR@WORK blog entries

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

Entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

Blog entries from The Auto Racing Journal

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!