At any given moment in fiction, the story is being told from some point of view. In literary terms, that point of view is described in terms of narrative person: first person is told as if the narrator is the same as the character currently in the spotlight, third person is told as if the narrator is observing the currently active character. I’m referring to the character in this way instead of main character, because in a particular scene or passage, the character in focus may not be a main character...

Spend any time around writers, and you will surely hear the sage but cryptic advice, "Show, don't tell." But what the heck does it mean, and why do people keep saying it? Is it a hard and fast rule, or are there times you should and should not follow it?

First off, what is it? Here's a simple example:
In both cases, we know Gwen was embarassed. The first version comes...

Dialogue is a prominent component in fiction, but is probably one of the least understood, at least in terms of punctuation. Before I dive into this though, I will offer this disclaimer:

The discussion below follows the standards established for US English. In the UK, the roles of the single quote and double quote are often reversed, although the US English convention is still widely offered as the preferred form. Other systems exist as well; a largely obsolete French convention...