Stop Describing the Door and Just Leave Already!: How Show Don't Tell Really Works.

If your readers know how to open a door, they don’t need three paragraphs explaining it. In this episode of Pros Talking Prose, Stacey and Troy tackle the infamous “show, don’t tell” debate, armed with examples from The Hunger Games, Twilight, Tolkien, Ernest Hemingway, A Quiet Place, and even Wheel of Time.

We dive deep into sensory writing, including how smell, taste, sound, touch, and sight can trigger powerful reader memories (yes, Jacob’s fur and sour milk included). We talk about why “and then” storytelling is killing modern fiction, how to make your setting a living, breathing character, and when to cut the fluff so your plot doesn’t die in a pile of adjectives.

From goat cheese and basil leaves to wind that hates you, we’ll show you how to layer emotion, backstory, and sensory detail without turning your chapters into padded filler. Whether you write fantasy epics, sizzling romance, or a small-town thriller, this episode will help you hook your readers and keep them turning pages.

Mentions in this episode:

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings

Ernest Hemingway’s short fiction

A Quiet Place (film)

Wheel of Time (TV adaptation)

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