Common wisdom in writing: Show/Don’t Tell. Whenever I begin to write a story, I tell and do little showing. What this means is that you use a passive voice. Everything is past tense or future tense in most cases.  Steven Covey, an author came up with a phrase I think of…’act or you will be acted upon.’ In everyday life, we become inert beings subjecting ourselves to needless suffering because we can see it coming and do nothing…there are consequences. 

In writing we like action verbs with present tenses.  In life, action verbs are good too. Well, in theory anyway, some of us work 40 + hours a week and just want relaxation after grinding out the hours. Unfortunately, there are errands, family, and little free time.  Reality tells me I am passive product of my circumstances. 

Opening paragraphs are all about creating a blurb that entices a reader. If in the first paragraph, a reader is disengaged, you have lost a potential reader. The simple sentence needs intensity and piques curiosity.  It’s a bit of show and tell for authors. 

On meeting a stranger, our first impression is the one that lasts. Sometimes you have only seconds in gauging the genuineness of the individual. A handshake, eye contact, a simple one word is all we can go on sometimes.  It is the cover of a novel. We have little knowledge than what our senses tell us. Outward appearance doesn’t always tell us what we ought to know. 

I semi-plot outlines. The no look and stream of consciousness writing is about whatever is in my head at a rapid pace without stopping to correct spelling errors (no peeking). It is hilarious when I put it to the side for a month or several months. Hard to decipher most of the time.  Speedwriting is another tool, so I can disguise what I am thinking in public places. Understanding that is much more difficult. Letters and curves have more than one subjective meaning. It is all show without telling. 

I love action movies. It helps when you have a handsome lead actor in danger. The plot lines are thin, but that doesn’t matter or detract one bit from my interest. John Wick? Someone killed his dog, and it is mayhem everywhere.  Bruce Willis’ estranged wife is in danger by terrorists in Die Hard, so he must kill the terrorists in unbelievable fashion. Realistically, John Mcclane would have died a thousand deaths up against all the bad guys. Now that’s exciting. The dialogue is silly and gets your heart racing. You know the good guys will win, but how? It’s all about the clever catchphrase. It’s the show that makes action movies great. Plots are not important. 

My “poems,” do not think of them as such, but do not know what to call it. They are thin on plot, but heavy on emotion. Poems are about telling and expressing feelings that are unable to be expressed in normal conversation. How would you tell someone, Your cover gives me pause? They would look at you strangely.  It means, wtf is going on?  Yet, a person could interpret it in many ways, it is up to the individual. I enjoy writing them because often the meaning could be hidden. It’s telling and letting a reader do the heavy work. 

Leadership is all about the show. There is a phrase, I like: Leadership is not about rank. Workers need not be promoted for them to show leadership. Many times, there were jobs without strong leadership. It lowers morale when the leaders have poor skills. The most important skill is mentoring. Mentoring is not about telling someone what to do, it is more about setting expectations and follow through. Working alongside people and keeping our head up in adversity is essential for the best bosses. Most bosses, when things go wrong, look for blame. Responsibility seeking is what good bosses do, they take ownership of their team. Too often, they falter and take the easy way out of trouble. Bad bosses are all about telling the associate what they want without inviting input.