Kids bring in a treasured toy or other artifact from home and stand before the class to explain it. But our kindergarten teachers were correct all along. You need both to tell an effective story, and the secret is in the balance of the two. But which is which? And how do you know when to show and when to tell? Detective Annalisa Vega had sworn off dating when the third guy in a row ended the evening by asking to see her handcuffs.
Hard to make upbeat chitchat over apps and cosmos after viewing the remains of a relationship like that. Establishes voice, character background, and POV. I know him from church, which he attends with his mother. Lured out from her reclusive lair by this ringing endorsement, Annalisa now regarded her date across the narrow two-person table and tried again to sell herself on his numerous good points.
Italian, with cloth napkins and a real candle flickering on the table. Her mother would be over the moon for him. Why so much telling? We could leap in earlier with the conversation, but the set-up gives you a reason to care about it. Family lore said Great Grandpapa Vega had once worked alongside Herman Melville, but Annalisa suspected this was just a fish story.
Whatever the case, her own great-grandfather had jumped ship and moved west to Chicago to cash in on the surge of construction after the Great Fire. He runs a button manufacturing plant in New Jersey. Did you know buttons date back to almost BC? Their earliest known use was in Indonesia, back when they were made from shells. But later. She repressed a yawn and drifted away inside her head.
Maybe next time she could ask Sassy to recommend a good movie or a talented masseuse. I should just accept my destiny and adopt a cat, she thought. Or maybe two. They could keep each other company while she was at work. Todd was still talking, and she forced herself to focus on his words. He had his wine glass in the air as if to make a toast. Obligingly, she lifted hers as well. Decision time. He looked at her with hopeful eyes.
