Belonging to different on-line writers’ groups provides an array of viewpoints re approaches to writing.
♣ No, you don’t have to use Times New Roman font anymore. ♣ Nothing wrong with using [a jumble of] various POVs. ♣ Don’t put two spaces after a period. Old school. Old hat. ♣ On no account do you have to show and tell; many great writers didn’t!
That’s why they were great. They possessed talent. They had a distinct voice. They knew how to detail and describe, and draw in readers.
Newbie writers—sorry if “newbie” is a bygone word, but I rather like it—haven’t yet mastered a voice or style. And, if they have, hats off! You’re nothing short of genius (using that as an adjective, just to be clear).
Perhaps you don’t want to be show-don’t-tell writer. Nothing wrong with that. But maybe employing the approach, if only as a learning tool, isn’t a bad or worthless suggestion. We develop as writers—as we do in any profession or craft—by practicing, studying and applying what we’ve learned.
That’s it. Short and sweet. And that phrase still applies . . . I’m telling you. 😉
The Writer's Grab-Bag 