Critique that made me stop telling instead of showing in my fantasy novel

A beta reader told me my fight scene was just 'he swung, she blocked' over and over. She said I described the sweat on his hands and the creak of the leather grip, not just the moves. Now I write every scene through what the character feels, hears, and smells - has anyone else had a reader nail their biggest flaw like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim.zara8d ago

Used to roll my eyes at 'show don't tell' but damn, they were right.

jenkins.reese8d ago

Wait, has anyone thought about how "show don't tell" actually screws up horror writing? @kim.zara I used to hate it too, but now I see the trick is knowing when to break it. Like, if you ONLY show everything in a horror story, you kill the mystery and leave no room for the reader's imagination to fill in the gaps. Sometimes telling what a character feels upfront is better than showing every single reaction.