Meeting May 7: Show Don’t Tell and Book Launch

Member Updates:

The Book Witch: An Urban Fantasy Coming-of-Age Novel, written by K.L. Baxton from our group, is published and available on Amazon. Over part of 2024 and 2025, the group read and discussed the chapters as they were shared. The compelling storytelling led to praise and spirited conversations about author craft ideas. Finally, the book is available for purchase so that the wider audience can enjoy what the Deadwood Writers experienced. Already, the reviews are promising for the novel. Congrats!

Feedback Sessions:

We had two drafts to discuss. Because one writer was not able to attend, we had an engaging conversation about author’s craft regarding Tim’s piece. His story was an action thriller with traces of humor revolving around a man, haunted by choices he made in the past. When he opens his door, the bill may have come due.

Based on Tim’s direction, the focus of our conversation dealt with the concept of “show, don’t tell.” He explored theme, imagery, and word choice in several places of the story to present the main character without directly telling the audience what’s what. For the most part, he nailed it. There were some side bar conversations about the ending of the story, as a cliffhanger or the ultimate show don’t tell mystery, when the final scene shows the main character with the villain pointing a gun at him. However, on the main focus, there were rich moments in the story that the group delved into for conversation about the use of craft. One example that was compelling to me is the poignant memories of his father’s voice from the past juxtaposed with the theme: what does it mean to be a hero? The approach was thoughtfully crafted without heavy handed messaging.

Takeaways:

Stories are created in many ways. One approach is what I call triangulation of ideas. For example, a writer has a character in mind, a situation, and a theme. That combo could be the start of a story. This is not a new idea, but remains relevant. It is a way to get started composing.

What if the triangulation of ideas was combined or enhanced with a classic story premise? For example, there are many books that use the premise of characters thrown into a battle royale.  A group goes into the arena, but only one comes out alive. For example: The Squid Games (show), The Hunger Games (novel), Battle Royale (manga), Lord of the Flies (novel), gladiatorial battles (Roman history). Each holds the same premise, yet stand on their own with different characters, situations, settings, and motivations. However, all are remembered by a fan base.

Invitation to Write

For the next meeting, each person will bring at least one page of writing on any topic or genre that they choose. Consider trying the triangulation approach based on a classic premise.

Or not 😉