"Show not Tell" a totalising grand narrative.

Every publisher will tell writers that their work must "show not tell". This is based on an early years' phrase "show and tell". It is a grand narrative but is it actually true or does it limit writers to producing work which is the same as the model writer and not something of their own?

That demon Dickens used a lot of adjectives in his work. He didn't "ruthlessly excise" adjectives as some publishers have demanded of writers.

And as for that awful Austen. What can we say about her? Do her novels "show" or do they "tell" in a witty and amusing way?

I think a publisher who tells writers to "be yourself" is much closer to the truth than one who has a set formula which they want writers to follow.

What do you think?

Derek McMillan