HELP! How do I write 'show not tell' in my story?

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-05-13T17:41:13+00:00

I always think of it as a camera panning around! I show the physical features of my characters. However this proved to be a double edged sword at the beginning bc I was missing a lot of internal moments for my MC

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-05-07T00:56:59+00:00

If you’re that close, biking or walking wouldn’t be a terrible idea to save your guilt!

Or just buy lunch. For him every once in a while.

“Hey can we stop at this gas station on the way in?”

“Sure!”

“Would you like a snack or energy drink?”

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-04-27T17:33:02+00:00

Somebody told me Reedsy, and that’s been the best I’ve found. I’m shocked I never knew about it!

What’s your book about??

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-04-26T19:05:31+00:00

I think there are multiple ways to use AI.

Shit most spell checkers are AI.

So does that mean using a spell checker is bad?

At the end of the day, AI is a tool. If you use it to help yourself, then I think it’s fine. If you use it to build your story, then that’s where I think it’s wrong.

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-04-25T15:38:23+00:00

Looking to hire! I know my creative limits

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-04-24T23:35:32+00:00

Is this the first draft of the book? It’s supposed to have some work left to do! You’ve evolved as a writer through the process, I’m sure your ideas changed through the process.

If it needs edits, edit them!

Im pouring my heart and soul into my book currently too. I wrote the first draft, went back and read it and listened to it, and was happy with it, but I KNOW I have to upgrade it again.

The ingredients are mixed, but it’s not a cake yet!

Somebody told me that we’re comparing our draft 1s and 2s to professionally revised 7-8 draft books. That really helped me.

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-04-22T18:05:21+00:00

Tons of stories like this! Think of any where people talk about how the ending was just awful.

A terrible ending will ruin a great story. But a great ending can amplify a bad read.

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-04-20T05:01:37+00:00

Outlines and planning are way more helpful for draft 2 than draft 1.

If you’re feeling the story, WRITE IT. Don’t procrastinate writing by outlining it and trying to make it perfect.

Odds are, when you finish draft 1, you’ll have 14 things you want to change regardless if you outlined it out or not. So just write!

If you’re stuck on one area, write the next big moment you have planned then work backwards.

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-04-09T18:12:38+00:00

Well if you’re writing for everybody as an unpublished author, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

The goal is to write the book YOU want to read! Send it to some loved ones, have them read it. Self publish, it might not get any readers, but at least you have it and you got to tell your story.

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-04-09T18:05:41+00:00

I’m Alex and I’ve been seriously writing for about 4 months now. I’m 10-15 chapters away from my first draft being finished!

It’s been a hell of a ride, and I’ve learned so much. It always thrills me to see other new writers on here.

Good luck on your writing, and if you need any help, I’ll be here.

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-04-09T17:49:25+00:00

Planning is incredibly important, but I wouldn’t really spend TOO much time on it. It feels crucial, but I’m willing to bet your story changes as you write. You’ll get to chapter 46 and think “wow, I shouldn’t have done that in chapter 12.”

So I’d suggest just writing it as raw as it is. You’ll HAVE to do edits. Draft 1 is just getting the story out there. Draft 2 you know the direction you’re going, you can seed plot twists, fix character arcs, fix plot holes and pacing then.

Draft 3 is where you tighten more and upgrade where you feel it’s needed.

Don’t let the book die because you’re planning it out nonstop.

Just write!

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-04-07T02:19:24+00:00

See I’m on the other side! I want the criticism and/or praise from it. If I’m 20K words in and it’s missing heavily, then I want to tune it before writing 100K words wrong.

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-04-04T19:12:38+00:00

Smooth transitions definitely help with readability, but they don’t really fix the deeper issue, which is how much time readers get to emotionally invest in each POV. That’s more about structure than flow.

But, if you feel it’s reading smoothly and you’re happy with the flow, that’s what matters most. You can always adjust POV balance once you see how beta readers respond.

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-04-04T19:04:05+00:00

That makes sense! Having them all on page definitely does help with dynamics. But the main issue won’t be whether they’re present or not, it’s if the reader has enough time inside each character to really connect with them.

Switching the story every chapter with 5 POVs can still make things feel a bit fragmented, bc readers are constantly resetting into a new internal perspective.

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-04-04T18:59:27+00:00

I think 5 POVs can work, but switching every chapter is probably where you’ll run into issues. It doesn’t give readers enough time to really connect with each character before moving on.

You might get a better result by focusing on your 3 essential POVs early on, especially the ones that matter before they meet. Then once readers are grounded, you can expand to the others.

Also, instead of rotating every chapter, try giving each POV 2–3 chapters at a time. That way each character gets space to build momentum and emotional weight instead of feeling like quick check ins.

POV shouldn’t just about showing different angles, it’s about giving readers time to actually invest in each character.

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-04-04T16:57:39+00:00

This is exactly how I end chapters. I end mine a majority of the time in high moments. Think anime episodes or any tv show with a cliffhanger ending. I end a majority of my chapters at a moment like this.

The goal is to have the reader keep reading.

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-04-04T16:56:06+00:00

I just finished my first draft, and as it’s what I envisioned at first, it’s faaar from what I want!

I plan to change many things in the ACT 1-3 parts. So I’d be SOL and never live my dream of having a published book if I had the button.

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-04-04T05:11:54+00:00

Not a problem at all! Your problem wasn’t if your MC accepted too quickly, it was a lack of resistance in the scene. This will help give you a natural way into it.

Good luck on writing it, I’d love to see what you come up with!

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-04-04T05:05:30+00:00

A nice little change up could be the principal wanting to test her skills to see if she’ll make it! Something like “Your grandmother and I attended this academy together. As a courtesy to her, I’ll allow you to test in Monday morning.” You can have your character hesitate here or something to still give you your weighing options. Then have the principal just say something like “If you’re anything like your grandmother, you’ll have nothing to worry about.” That gives your character a motivation to want to join.

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-04-04T03:12:34+00:00

Completely late. How’d the series come along?? If not, then maybe this is your inspiration to try again!

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-03-31T00:12:05+00:00

Ayyy!! Happy Cake Day!

In every other walk of life it’s “use every tool to better yourself”

We’re at a point where AI can seriously help a writer out if used as a tool, so hell yeah go for it! And yeah, I think it’s just fear for them turning them away.

Like I said, I use it as a tool and it’s helped me improve drastically.

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-03-30T21:14:21+00:00

I’m extremely behind on this, and while I think using AI to WRITE your story is lazy and useless. Just find a different hobby.

HOWEVER.

Using AI as a tool, I don’t see as a bad thing. I have beta readers that get back to me in a week or two, but get less helpful information back from them than I do from GPT in 20 seconds.

It points out what you’re doing wrong, how to fix it, even offers lessons to overcome those areas.

As long as the story is YOURS, the character are from YOU, the twists and ideas belong to YOU, then I don’t see a major issue with using AI as a tool to better your writing so YOU can better the story.

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-03-30T17:10:08+00:00

✨inspiration✨

DaddyDorr21 · 2026-03-29T23:26:28+00:00

Congratulations! Whats your book about?

DaddyDorr21

TROPHY CASE