Picked the "show don't tell" prompt over the dialogue-only challenge and now my writing group is split

So at our last monthly meeting we had to pick between two prompt options for next week. Option A was write a scene showing emotion through action only, no internal thoughts. Option B was a whole scene with nothing but dialogue, no tags or descriptions. I went with A because I figured actions are easier to fake than people talking like real humans. Turned in my piece about a guy trying to fix his dad's old truck while his girlfriend watches from the porch. No words on how he feels, just him hitting his thumb with a wrench and her not looking away. Half the group loved it, other half said it felt cold and they had no clue what anyone was thinking. Now we're debating if showing is actually better than telling or if both just need each other. Has anyone else had a prompt choice backfire like this where half your group hated what the other half loved?

2 comments

2 Comments

evanr7921d ago

Yeah @spencer664 I think they're saying actions are easier to fake badly not that they're easier to do well... But I'm wondering you think the coldness they felt came from the lack of telling or from something else in the writing itself?

spencer66421d ago

Actions are easier to fake" is wrong, good actions take just as much skill as writing good dialogue.