Aisha/Nex Story: Show, Don’t Tell

A common piece of writing advice is “show, don’t tell”. When you tell your audience what a character did or felt, the audience won’t see it or feel it. For example, what if I said this:

Sarah was angry.

So what? That’s just a statement. But what if I wrote this instead?

Sarah balled her fists. Her breath sputtered out of her nostrils. With a roar, she jerked her arm back and flung her iPhone into the wall.

You saw that, didn’t you? She was ticked. Showing it made her anger feel more real.

Of course, I’ll follow the “show, don’t tell” rule in my Aisha/Nex story. But it’s also the reason I’m writing the story in the first place.

How This Applies to My Aisha/Nex Story

A Winx fan on Winx Wiki once told me I’m “seeing things that aren’t there” when it comes to Aisha and Nex. That’s the problem: a lot of people are visual. They need to see something to believe it, so concepts and theories mean nothing to them. If it’s not obvious, it’s not real.

For years, I’ve told people about Aisha and Nex’s symbolism, their story potential, and how they benefit each other. But telling doesn’t work. If the audience can’t see or picture what they’re hearing or reading, they won’t connect to it emotionally.

I have to show them these concepts in action. The only way to do that is to turn them into a story. Even if it’s written, not onscreen, it’ll feel more real than theories.

Sorry for the fake-out at the beginning of the post. “Show, don’t tell” is still good writing advice.