Catriona Ward talks about how the horrors revealed in true crime stories served as a research tool for her new book "The Last House on Needless Street"
By Marina LostetterApr 13th, 2021, 4:00 pm
There are few things authors both hate to love and love to hate like maxims about writing. Writing maxims are pithy bits of wisdom that, while memorable, often become meaningless without further explanation. Some standout examples include: “write what you know,” “kill your darlings,” and “eliminate all passive voice.”
These maxims sound like directives, are often misconstrued by newer writers as ‘rules,’ and are easily misinterpreted. I could write an essay on each, but today I’d like to focus on my favorite: “show don’t tell.”
It’s my favorite because I find it the most useful. But it’s also one that’s incredibly easy to misunderstand, largely because it’s got a very problematic word right there in the middle: don’t.