Forums » RP Discussion » Examples of prose?

I’m tired of reading the same advice everywhere, everyone TELLS me “show don’t tell” but they won’t SHOW me how!

Anyone know where I can find lots of descriptive writing examples and prose to spark inspiration?

Or something that can teach me how to be creative again? Lol

Showing not telling is definitely something I've had to hammer into my brain over the last few years. I generally tell more than show in RP because it's supposed to be fun, and I spend a lot of time showing in the books I write. However I still try to include a good mixture of showing and telling in RP posts so that it is still fun and easy for me to write, but is also pleasant to read as well.

Some examples of showing would be...

Instead of:
He was wearing a red shirt, jeans and converse.

Say:
The wind ruffled his red shirt.
The rain dampened the bottom hem of his jeans.
His converse squeaked as he stepped.


Instead of:

"No!" she shouted angrily.

Say:

"No!" She shouted. Her hands curled into fists.

Instead of:

The food didn't taste good, not at all. It was disgusting.

Say:

Their face twisted as they took a bite of the food. Their brow furrowed as they chewed. Their stomach tightened as bile rose up burning their throat.

---

I hope that helps!

You can also pick up a novel and read it. That helps.

Yes! Adding some descriptors helps fill out the scene and goes a long ways to encourage visualisation. A good mix works the best as I've had some RPs that have too much description for every little point that it just bogs down. I tend to use writing styles of authors I really like in my writing. It's usually a mix of them with my own style.

Doing a bit of a writing exercise may help. Pick some lines that you would write, then visualise it as you see the scene, then write it again describing how you see it. It's what MercyinReach did above. It helps.

I also wanted to add for educational purposes that show vs tell and prose are different things. Prose is essentially just writing that's not poetry. All novels, all short stories, ect are written in prose, but not all prose contains showing and not telling.

I certainly agree with Winplaceshows advice of reading books! I have read a lot of books in my preferred writing genre and have learned a lot.

The best idea would be to pick the genre you usually write in, even if it's not the genre you prefer to read, and pay attention to how they describe things. ALSO pay attention to how they use the 'telling' in a way that's still interesting despite not technically showing you; because you can in fact tell and have it be really good writing.

Explained perfectly thank you