Today, we navigate to Bite #60, A Way Not to Judge, from Eating an Elephant: Write Your Life One Bite at a Time.
We all have difficult people in our stories, and while we have every right to write about what happened to us, how we do it matters.
Instead of labeling someone with harsh descriptions, we let readers see that person’s behavior through action and dialogue.
When we show rather than tell, readers draw their own conclusions, making our writing more powerful and believable.
How do you handle difficult people on the page?
In the comments section below, please tell us how you describe challenging people. Maybe, even include a paragraph or two as an example of your approach.
Always remember, the only way to do this wrong is to not do it at all.
Until next time, happy writing, everyone.
Showing is always more convincing than telling, and it’s true in fiction as well. Let the antagonists reveal themselves by what they do and say.
Carl rubbed his hands quickly up and down on his pants. “Come on, Dave, help me out here and in da’ house. Come in, and meets me wife, Dortz.” A black Cocker Spaniel came running to greet them. She wrapped herself around David and Carl’s feet and his walker, barking loudly. Carl shuffled his feet towards the house. “Hey, Maggies. Hows ya doen. Bet ya happy to see me home. Who’s been feeden you?” David managed to get Carl, his oxygen tank, and tubes from his car, up one step to the back doorway, with the dog running circles around… Read more »
I remember an obnoxious car salesman bragging how much money he could get for his Volkswagen. He continuously blew stinky cigar smoke in the air every chance he got. We wrinkled our noses and said no thank you and left.
I think if I wanted to show my father’s penchant for horribly corny jokes, I’d tell the jokes in the text. If I had to suffer through them, then so do my readers. “Do you know how the town of Depere got its name?” said my dad. “No,” I replied, meaning no, don’t tell me. “Well, he replied, “A native walked into the lake there and stepped into a hole. When he surfaced, he said, ‘Deep here, Deep here.'” Yes, my dad actually thought that joke was funny.
Knowing Depere, Dave, that is funny.
My dad had a sense of humor, also. There were many corny jokes, and it was fun listening to them. Looking back, I love the reminder that there were funny things about Dad.
I use dialogue to depict my mother-in-law’s destructive behavior in my memoir. It is interesting to note, Patricia, that I just read an article on the same subject in the Brevity Blog. I love your examples from your book on your uncle. The one with the dialogue made me chuckle. Thanks.