Show... don't tell
Ever since I first began to write as a child, there has been a constant voice in the back of my mind, repeating one phrase.
"Show, don't tell."
Every teacher, professor, mentor, agent and publisher I have ever interacted with has reiterated that one simple statement. The first rule of writing. The single most important rule when communicating in the written word.
"Show, don't tell."
I think this rules is an essential one in all aspects of life. I know when I teach, it is so much simpler to show a person how to do something than to explain it verbally.
When I was working on my "Whispers" essay last summer, I struggled for months. I could tell someone the philosophies of Gor. I could spout quotes with the best of them. But that was not enough. I felt this need to express what it feels like in that first moment when you truly know you are of Gor. I wanted the reader to feel it. I wanted to show... not tell. When I finally finished, I sent it to several long time friends for their opinions. Three Gorean men for whom I had a tremendous respect and regard. And each one sent back a one word reply..... "Yes." Only then did I send it to the Voice.
Since then, I have written volumes of essays, some more strident than others, but that one remains to me, my favorite. I have received more mail from that essay alone than all the others combined.
This past week, while ill, I have done more reading and less writing. I have read the countless Gorean message boards and forums on the net. After a while, they all blur together. Mainly because the words are the same. Strident, angry posts by people with a feverish zeal to protect Gor by pointing fingers and shouting, "I'm Gorean and you are not! You're doing it wrong!"
None of us are innocent of this. We've all done it. But that does not make it right. Nor does it work. It is an exercise in futility. Getting in someone's face, shouting, finger pointing and name calling will not make someone Gorean. It simply makes them defensive. And it makes us look like those irrational bible thumpers we see on the news.
Each of us was new to Gor at one point. There is not one person who popped out of a box labeled "Gorean." We learned what that meant and how it affected our own lives. Over a long period of time. And we learned from the examples set by those who were here when we arrived. They did not beat it into us. They did not demean or abuse us. They did not "tell" us how to do it. They showed us. By simply being who they are.
Those of us who have been here the longest owe it to those who taught us to do the same. Instead of constantly telling new arrivals how they're doing it wrong... perhaps our energy would be better spent in simply showing them how to do it right. No one becomes Gorean by osmosis. They learn from the examples set for them. It is up to us to set those examples....
"Show, don't tell."
I wish you well,
Dangrus
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