Preface: Show, Don't Tell

Chapter 1 Definition
Chapter 2: The Importance of 'Showing'
Chapter 3: Nine Red Flags of Speaking
Chapter 4: The Art of 'Showing'
Chapter 5: Avoiding Unnecessary Repetition
Chapter 6: Danger Zones to Watch Out for in 'Speaking' 1
Chapter 7: Danger Zones to Watch Out for in Speaking 2
Chapter 8: Danger Zones to Watch Out for in 'Speaking'
Chapter 9: Speaking in Conversation
Chapter 10: Excessive 'Showing Off'
Chapter 11: Uses of 'Speaking'
Chapter 12 Practice
Chapter 13 Answers

Conclusion: What to write now

The magical transformation brought about by 'showing'

Don't just make the reader read,
Let them live in the world you created!

Think of immortal classics, international bestsellers, and works that are popular through word of mouth.
What do these have in common? The works that come to mind right now all contain unforgettable scenes and events, and heart-pounding lines.
As they pile up, intertwine, and move forward, a new world unfolds.
That world may be similar to reality, or it may be completely unfamiliar.
Either way, we feel like we've lived in that world rather than just read it.
You lose track of time, follow the characters, laugh, cry, empathize with their emotions, or criticize their attitudes, and grow together with them.
Those that are called someone's life novels leave a deep impression on the heart, unlike so many other ordinary works.
So how is this possible?

“Don’t tell me the moon shines, show me a ray of light on a broken piece of glass.” (Anton Chekhov)
“The most moving writing comes when the writer shows a situation without explaining it.” (Leo Tolstoy)
“A clear text attracts readers, but an ambiguous text attracts only critics.” (Albert Camus)
“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” (Stephen King)

Sandra Guss, a novelist and editor whose works have repeatedly reached number one on Amazon's bestsellers list, finds answers in the "show, don't tell" writing principle that countless writers, from the great classics to contemporary bestsellers, have emphasized.
No matter how interesting a story is, if the sentences, the basic units that unfold the story, are simply "speaking" to the reader, the reader will not be able to immerse themselves in a new world, empathize with the characters, and simply read the information the author explains.
In order to write like the life novels we were so engrossed in reading, we must not just 'tell' the story unilaterally, but 'show' a world vividly before the reader.


However, many aspiring writers or authors fail to properly distinguish the subtle difference between 'telling' and 'showing'.
Sandra Guss has refined the famous writing principle of "show, don't tell" to help contemporary writers understand it accurately and has created a training system that anyone can use to write and revise.
The Power of Description, which has already helped many aspiring writers in the United States and has become a steady seller in the writing field, is the first and core of Sandra Guss's "How to Make Your Writing a Work of Art" series.


How to turn your ordinary writing into a masterpiece
The only way to improve your writing skills is to write.

We've already heard the same advice over and over again about how to write well: to be specific or to be brief.
But when I actually start writing, I feel lost.
The more I write, the more blunt the message I want to convey becomes and the more my sentences become.
It starts out pretty well, but as it goes on, it gets lost.
There's a lot of writing advice out there, but the problem is I don't know how to apply it to my own writing.


The power of description starts with explaining which words to avoid.
For example, verbs like 'saw', 'smelled', 'felt', and 'noticed', and adjectives like 'beautiful' and 'fearful' are typical expressions that the author 'tells', which prevent the reader from immersing themselves in the characters and properly experiencing the events in the story.
This book follows the principle of "show, don't tell," and shows how to revise certain sentences and in what way through vivid examples from the novel.
In addition, it presents clear methods rather than intuitions, such as how adjectives and adverbs ruin writing, what makes a good line, when to spill information about the world and characters, how modern novel readers differ from classic novel readers, and why editors and readers dislike flashback scenes.
Above all, the goal of this book is to help me improve my writing.
So, for each chapter, I provide rewriting tips and practice exercises so that you can immediately check what parts of your actual manuscript need to be deleted or revised, and apply the "show me" technique.

The only way to improve your writing skills is to write yourself.
The more you edit a piece of writing, the more it shines.
The power of description is a book that only helps the writer.
So the program in this book makes anyone write.
Let's fix it.
If you're someone who wants to express your world through writing, an aspiring writer who's started but isn't sure if you're writing properly, or a writer who's feeling discouraged because the scene you're currently writing isn't coming together, keep this book by your side and open it often.
As you progress through each of the 13 chapters, the sentences that were stuck are thrillingly resolved.
The important thing is to keep writing without getting frustrated.
This book shows all the difficulties a writer may face and suggests ways to continue working.