Laurie Alberts

SHOWING & TELLING

"Show—don't tell." How many times have you heard this standard bit of writing advice? It's so common in writing courses and critiques that it has become a cliché. Writers are often told to write scenes, dramatize, cut exposition, cut summary—but it's misguided advice. The truth is good writing almost always requires both showing and telling. The trick is finding the right balance of scene and summary—the two basic components of creative prose.

Showing and Telling shows you how to employ each of these essential techniques in the appropriate places within a narrative. You'll learn how to:

write scenes and cut exposition
compress time and summarize background information
create graceful transitions
effectively inject interpretation
and more

Selected Works

CRAFT
Memoir
Between Revolutions: an American Romance with Russia
“...vivid... precisely detailed and convincing... as involving and moving as a novel”
--Kelly Cherry
Fault Line
“A thoughtful, wrenching portrait of obsessive love.”
--Booklist
Fiction
The Price of Land in Shelby
“...beautifully written.”
--Library Journal
“...a richly observed tale of suffering and survival.”
--Publishers Weekly
Lost Daughters
"The shocking nature of...lies and their consequences lend power to this affecting novel." -- Booklist
Goodnight Silky Sullivan
"Alberts' subtle imagination and voice make for a poignant, resonant collection." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review
Tempting Fate
"A rich deep novel...Laurie Alberts writes with an easy grace that clarifies strange sights..." -- The New Yorker