What Are You Trying to Show?
Lisa Clifford
Do you get stuck trying to show what you want to say? You can feel in your bones something bursting to be expressed and shown through your characters. You might even be writing fluidly, sometimes beautifully, yet, yet, something feels unclear. The scene is there, winking at you (cheeky bugger), but it’s not coming into sharp focus. It’s as though you can’t quite get your point across with showing not telling.
Often free writing helps you get your stories down. Having a big unfiltered moment can help you find what you are trying to say through showing. Free writing is great because it can loosen you up, blast you out of self-consciousness.
I find talking or miming the scene through is also good. Getting the real feel of your characters body.
So…
What is the emotional centre of this scene?
A first glance at this photo, you see a man playing the violin in a workshop. But what stays with you isn’t the object or the action. It’s the absorbed concentration. The intimacy between his body and instrument. The sense of a private world momentarily revealed.
A simple exercise: Showing emotion
Look at the photograph.
Write four lines only.
Do not name an emotion.
Do not explain what the person is feeling.
Instead:
Focus on one small physical detail.
Let that detail carry the emotional weight.
Stop before you feel ‘finished.’
When you’re done, read it back and ask:
What am I really trying to say here? Does that one small physical detail show what I am trying to say?
It would be wonderful if you could dig down on the different ways you can create your scenes. Join us for a 2-3 hour Zoom session to expand your horizons on building your scenes.
2026 Craft Clinics (Note the $99 early bird price finishes on February 3 – yikes!)
-
Feb 17 — The Art of Scene
Craft vivid, emotionally charged scenes that move your story forward. -
March 17 — Memory into Memoir
Shape lived experience into compelling narrative. -
April 14 — The Major Dramatic Question
Identify and sustain the central tension that keeps readers turning pages. -
May 12 — Character and Conflict
Understand what your characters want — and what stands in their way.
🎟 Early Bird:
$99 AUD / €55.34
(Available when booked more than two weeks in advance.)
A big thank you to Jenny Matthews for this thoughtful response to the Pratovecchio Stia photograph exercise in our last Art of Writing Blog. Really hope last week’s Blog exercise helped your own project or gave you a bit of fun.
Scene and Heard
Jenny Matthews
She slowly sauntered across the road towards the bar. Towards the usual line of men sitting outside who would notice, she knew, her gorgeous red, silk top which caressed the curve of her cleavage and also, she knew, would notice that it sat seductively on her hips atop her colourful summer skirt.
Then she glanced at the men again – ‘Cazzo,’ she softly murmured to herself as she realised that two of the men were looking away and weren’t looking at her. Was she losing her touch she thought with amusement, saying “Buongiorno” to everyone as she entered the bar.
She was early that morning. Deliberately earlier than usual. Franco would be surprised when he came in the cafe to find her there already. Would it occur to him that this might be a sign, a sign of something different? Quite by accident she had picked up a magazine at the hairdressers after their last futile and fractured meeting and read an article about relationships. One line had caught her eye and had literally jumped out and assaulted her. Never invest in people who don’t invest in you. She had invested heavily in Franco, for years, in his studies, in him finding a good job, now in his ambition to set up his own company, with vague references to their future together. Initially angry with herself after reading the article, she had then channelled her anger into something more positive.
What investment was Franco prepared to make in her future? She waited to find out.
I want to knock this idea on the head right now -- some people at the beginning of their writing journey might feel that they are ‘not good enough’ or ‘experienced enough’ to join the Art of Writing. The beauty of step-by-step workshops is that they bring you first into basics, then expand into the details. Imagine not feeling ‘good enough’ to cook in your own kitchen. You try recipes, burn things, adjust the heat. Writing is another room where you’re allowed to make a mess. Go on! Be messy! This is what we do – write messy drafts!
The Art of Writing: Sydney Story Workshop. This will be an absolute banger of a 3-day Friday - Sunday writing event.
Woollahra Library, Double BayFriday 21 – Sunday 23 August 2026
Three days.
Seven masterclasses.
Five extraordinary teachers.
A literary agent Q&A with the chance to present your précis.
Lunch included
This is for you because you want to tell a story.
Book your place now or write to us about a payment plan to secure your place.
This retreat in Rome is going beyond anything we’ve ever done before and that’s saying something!
Deposits are now open for The Art of Writing’s Rome retreat. Set within a remarkable, one-of-a-kind venue, this is Rome as it is lived rather than visited: observed closely and walked slowly with historical guided writing tours.
The Rome retreat is only for 7 writers as we are inside Palazzo Doria Pamphilj - eeeek! Too fantastico! There are only 3 places left.
Your week in Rome includes:
- Four mornings of creative writing classes
- Seven intimate teaching sessions
- A Sense of Place writing walk through Rome
- A historic walking tour with local insight
- Welcome drinks & opening dinner
- Final dinner together
- Morning cappuccinos
- And loads of hanging out and chatting with the most amazing locals!
✨ Special guest speaker: Anya Camilleri
Rome Timeless Craft is now open for full payment and deposits.
If you’d like to read more of my work, you can buy the e-book of The Promise here and Or Death in the Mountains here. Each tells a story close to my heart. One of love, the other of loss and the search for truth.
Can I take a moment here for memoir writers? There’s been a fair bit of chatter this week about me and my mother–daughter memoir. If you’re writing your own story, it’s worth pausing to ask yourself a very necessary question: what do I need to do to take care of myself while I’m writing this?
Writing a deeply personal story can take a real emotional toll. In my experience, having already written a memoir, it’s incredibly important to stop and reflect on whether you need some space or more gentleness. Knowing when to write and when to step back is part of the work too. Your story matters. So do you. You must take good care of yourself if you are writing a memoir.
We’ll talk again next week!
