Show and Tell . . .

When I was in second grade, one of the regulars of a NYC dive bar my dad took me to on Sundays taught me a trick you do with coasters--beer-soaked Schlitz coasters, if memory serves me (could only find Miller ones online for the picture, but you get the idea). I took them to Show and Tell to show my class what I learned--the Amazing Coaster Trick. And my mom promptly got a phone call about the "appropriateness" of my Show and Tell selection. Yes, that story made it into THE ROOFER. And yes, it's true. But that's not the Show and Tell I'm talking about.

You are always hearing about "Show, don't tell." But what's the practicality of it?

Yesterday, I blogged about single word choices that take you OUT of a story. Today . . . I'm posting about one word choice that drove readers of The Roofer insane. And it was precisely what I wanted to happen.

There's a scene when Tom is in the bar with Ava early on, and they are talking about his least favorite subject--that being their father. And Tom is jittery, since he is a drug addict, and he calls Ava, "Baby." As in "Please, Baby." Yeah, baby, baby, baby. As in, yeah, there is definitely something odd about this brother and sister.

It isn't long before you realize an aura of a love affair hangs over Ava and Tom. Something is "off," but you don't know what, yet. But I can't SAY that. I can't TELL you, "Here, reader . . . something's wrong here." I have to SHOW you. And so that one word does it. And I heard about it in my critique group. And I heard about it from squeamish readers.

In my Billie Quinn mysteries, they are told in first person. And Billie is a genius. But in first person, it would have been clunky to come right out and have her say, "My name is Billie Quinn, and I am a genius." And it would have been OBVIOUS to have it come up in conversation. To have someone else bring it up. But it's important to know. So . . . how to show it?

Billie best friend is Lewis LeBarge. He is an eccentric among eccentrics. Head of the crime lab, he collects blood spatter photos and frames them as art. He has a pet tarantula--that he perpetually loses. He has a collection of brains in formaldehyde. And he is a genius of the kind that are 1 in a million--if that. And he is impatient with anyone who is not as smart as he is. Even "high average" people annoy him. He, in fact, mostly plays chess online until the wee hours since most human beings irritate the sh*t out of him. Who is Lewis's best friend? Billie. She's beyond his best friend. They are as close as two people can be without sleeping together. Thus what does that SHOW you about Billie? If he puts up with her, she must be a genius who is his equal or nearly so.

Showing, not telling, for me, is about making PRECISE choices. VERY carefully choosing what you reveal, sometimes even single word choices, that show what you need to know.

Thoughts? How do you show, not tell?