Topic: Research and Telling a Story

10-second review: The author prepared for writing her historical novel Moon’s Crossing by researching the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, early Chicago, Daniel Burnham, the Ferris wheel, the neo classical buildings and the Civil War because the main character is a veteran of the Civil War. But she learned that even with all that research, she needed to remember how to tell a story.

Title: “When Too Much Fact Spoils the Story.” Barbara Croft. The Writer (December 2008), 40-41. The Writer is a magazine by writers for writers.

Summary: What did Barbara Croft learn about telling a story after doing all that research? “A story can’t be told, however fascinating its facts may be. It must be dramatized.”

Comment: Which is another way of saying, “Show, don’t tell.” RayS.