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PART 3: When Showing Goes Wrong 

If a section of the novel is important to the story, then SHOW.

If a section of the novel is a bridge to another scene or doesn’t hold any importance, then TELL.

There's no reason to give a long-winded account of what's in the bedroom of a particular scene if those items don't serve a purpose.

The difference between showing and telling is shown below:

Johnny coughed in a room filled with smoke: TELLING

Johnny breezed through a plume of smoke in the tavern and the fumes squeezed his lungs as he coughed: SHOWING

There’s no wrong way of knowing when to show or tell, but the reader needs to at least FEEL a part of the scene.

You can also fit the description of a scene in between a story or dialogue.

Instead of stopping the flow of the novel by using a paragraph to describe a scene, you can also fit the scenery with the action.

Small example, using the same excerpt from Part 2:

Johnny breezed through a plume of smoke in the tavern and the fumes squeezed his lungs as he coughed.

 

“Damn, Terry,” Johnny pounded his chest while coughing up spit. “What kind of shit you’re smoking?”

 

“Man, this that Cali bud. I got this out west from my cousin.” His lips hugged onto the joint, as the wind blowing through the open door pushed the smoke away from Johnny while sending chills across his flesh.

You can feed two birds with one crumb by describing the tavern and using character interaction at the same time.

This note has been approved by King Dhakir @ http://www.kingdhakir.com/orderbook.htm