Tag: Verisimilitude

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What’s the difference between showing and telling in novel writing? | Revise and Refine

Mandy Webster

If you’ve ever taken a creative writing course, you have probably been admonished at least once to “show, don’t tell.” But, what does that even mean? What’s the difference between showing and telling, and why does it matter?

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining: show me the glint of light on broken glass.”
–Anton Chekov

Showing and telling are two different ways of conveying information in creative writing. Telling refers to when the author simply tells the reader what is happening or what a character is feeling, without showing it through actions, dialogue, or description. For example, “Tessa was angry” is a statement that tells the reader how Tessa is feeling without showing any evidence of her anger.

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How to use dialogue tags in your novel | Revise and Refine

Mandy Webster

Dialogue tags in fiction are phrases or words used to indicate which character is speaking and how they are speaking. Although the most effective strategy for helping the reader identify who is speaking is to give each character a unique voice, using distinct vocabulary, speech patterns, and pacing, the fact is that dialogue tags cannot always be avoided. In such cases, it is important to understand what dialogue tags are and how to use them effectively to enhance reader experience.

Dialogue in novel writing is the written conversation that occurs between two or more characters in a story.

The most common dialogue tag is “said,” but tags can include other verbs like “asked,” “replied,” “whispered,” or “shouted.” These tags help clarify who is speaking and can add emotional or tonal context to the dialogue. For example:

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Why is dialogue important in novel writing? | Revise and Refine

Mandy Webster

Dialogue is a key element of novel writing. In narrative writing, dialogue refers to the written conversation between characters. It helps reveal character personalities, relationships, and emotions through their words and interactions. Dialogue also advances the plot by conveying information, conflicts, or key events in a natural way. It breaks up descriptive passages and provides a sense of realism and immediacy to the story. Well-crafted dialogue can also enhance the tone, mood, and pacing of the narrative.

Dialogue in novel writing is the written conversation that occurs between two or more characters in a story.

Dialogue typically involves two or more characters taking turns speaking to each other. It may be presented in direct speech, where the characters’ exact words are written within quotation marks, or in indirect speech, where the gist of the conversation is conveyed without the exact words being spoken. Dialogue can be used for a variety of purposes in narrative writing, which I have outline below:

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What’s the difference between character development and characterization?

Mandy Webster

Character development and characterization are two closely related concepts in fiction writing. However, there is a subtle difference between the two terms. Character development refers to the changes that a character undergoes over the course of a story. These physical, emotional, or psychological changes are all part of the character’s arc. For example, a character might start out as shy and timid, but by the end of the story, they might become more confident and outgoing.

How do you help your reader truly get to know each character in your story?

Meanwhile, characterization refers to the way that a writer reveals a character’s personality, motivations, and background. This can be done through a variety of methods, such as:

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How to develop your novel’s character arcs | Novel revision tips

Mandy Webster

Inconsistent character arcs are an essential big-picture issue that should be addressed early in the revise and refine stage of the novel writing process. A character arc is the transformation or development of a character over the course of the story. It’s the emotional or psychological journey that a character goes through as they face and overcome challenges or obstacles and change as a result.

The characters in your stories may have different types of character arcs– the important thing is that they evolve along with your story rather than remaining stagnant from start to finish.

To address these issues during the revise and refine stage of the novel writing process, it is important to first determine which of your characters are important enough for them to experience a defined character arc over the course of your story. This will often include both your protagonist and antagonist as well as any other characters who are essential to the plot of your story.

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How to create a sense of verisimilitude in your novel | Novel revision tips

Mandy Webster

Verisimilitude is the appearance of truth or reality in a work of fiction. It is the quality of a story that makes it seem believable, even if it is not actually true. Verisimilitude is created by the writer’s use of details, language, and characterization. There are two main types of verisimilitude: internal and external.

Even though unicorns may not exist in real life, your treatment of them in your story world must still be realistic to maintain the reader’s interest.

Internal verisimilitude is the believability of the story within its own fictional world. This means that the events and characters of the story must be consistent with the rules and logic of that world. For example, if a story is set in a medieval castle, the characters would not be driving cars or using cell phones.

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