I'm currently writing a third person limited short story (main character is an 11 year old girl named Ada). The vibe I'm trying to go for has more of a serene tone, but still very creepy. It makes the reader feel uncomfortable but still curious as to what happens next.
What I need help with:
- How to show, not tell.
- How to write an entire story with no spoken dialogue (like, Ada might see someone talking, but the actual quotes are never present)
- How to write a character completely resigned to her reality, no matter how dark it may be.
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For showing and not telling, the biggest part is feelings. Don't say "she was angry," say "her body shook and her face turned red as she balled her hands into fists." Descriptions are your friend in this area, but don't overdo it. If you describe something, think about how it could be further described, but more importantly, IF it should be further described. If Ada came across a green forest that she'd walked through dozens of times before, she might describe it as lively and vibrant with birds chirping, but leave it at that. If she'd never seen the forest before, she might be amazed and think about her surroundings more.
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For writing a story with no dialogue, it's actually much easier than it seems. Describe Ada's senses more, like what she sees, what she smells, etc. Also describe her actions. Facial expressions and body language can also convey a character's thoughts as much as dialogue, if not more.
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For a character completely resigned to her reality, I can't really help you there.
I hope I helped somewhat.
- "Show don't tell" encompasses basically everything about a story. Exposition, dialogue, action, description, etc. But I think you run into most problems when you try to tell all the history or facts (exposition), and when you try to tell all about major plot points. So if you're introducing a mining town, you wouldn't say "it was a mining town, established in xxxx, with a long history of…" blah blah blah. Instead you could begin by describing where the town is situated (on a mountainside), what the men coming home in the evening look like (dusted all over in black coal), and how the tracks for carrying the cargo loop in and out of the mountain. That screams "mining town" without you having to say it, and it makes for a more enveloping reading experience. And then for major plot points, don't say "and then she betrayed him," or "the North declared war on the South." Just in general, it REALLY depends on the style of writing. Instead show what's happening through context clues or dialogue (which you're not using, but if you were, you'd have to be careful because people use dialogue to info-dump A LOT).
- There's no right or wrong way to write a story without dialogue! Put your own ideas and style into it. The advice Shadow gave was good, too.
- I'm guessing you don't just want the character to be resigned to her own reality, but you want readers to especially notice it. For that, the only thing I can think of is making it a point for her to react to bad things happening in very calm ways. Also to have her immediately get up whenever she's knocked down.
That's all I've got, hope it helped!
