Authors when you blog, show, don’t tell


You have heard it enough while you were writing – show, don’t tell – but did you know it applies to blogs as well?

A mistake a lot of bloggers make, me included, is to tell readers what we want them to know. We do it even more if we want to sell something.

If I told you that John was a short chap that loves coffee, are you really going to care?

No, of course not. Who on the Earth is this John fellow?

What if I told you that John is so small he can sit on the edge of his giant coffee mug and not touch the ground? The chances are, you are a whole load more interested in what John is all about, right?

The difference between those two examples is one is me using words to tell you he is small while the second is me using words that show you he is small. It is the exact same skill that you have been using to write amazing stories.

When you blog – show, don’t tell.


About Matthew Brown

Matthew is a writer and geek from Kent (UK). He is the founder and current chair of Thanet Creative as well as head geek for Author Buzz. His ambitions include appearing in some future incarnation of TableTop with Wil Wheaton and seeing a film or TV series based on something he wrote. Matt is also responsible for fixing stuff here when it breaks.

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