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The workshop in Portland that made me stop using 'show, don't tell' as a rule

I was at a writing workshop in Portland about three years ago, and the instructor said 'show, don't tell' was the worst advice for new writers. He argued it makes people write 30 pages of pointless description just to avoid a simple sentence like 'he was angry.' I used to follow that rule like a law, but now I just ask if the sentence moves the story forward. Has anyone else found that strict writing rules actually hold them back more than help?
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2 Comments
taylor_flores
Rules are just training wheels, really.
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the_tara
the_tara23d ago
Training wheels for what, a free-for-all?
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