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Show don’t tell - non-famous creatures

I don’t know if you have this problem. But I still suck at “show don’t tell”. An excellent example is when I try to describe non-famous creatures. (I mean, to describe something famous, like a unicorn or so, is easy. The unicorn is a horse with a horn.) However, how do I describe something that not everyone knows? For example, a chimera. It’s a mix between lion, goat, and snake. Or a Cerberus. Do I write just “three-headed dog” there? How do I write unknown creature in the best way?
 
I don’t know if you have this problem. But I still suck at “show don’t tell”. An excellent example is when I try to describe non-famous creatures. (I mean, to describe something famous, like a unicorn or so, is easy. The unicorn is a horse with a horn.) However, how do I describe something that not everyone knows? For example, a chimera. It’s a mix between lion, goat, and snake. Or a Cerberus. Do I write just “three-headed dog” there? How do I write unknown creature in the best way?

'Show, don't tell' doesn't mean you can not describe a creature.
It is just a reminder that it is preferable to show action in a movie instead of telling about the action through voice-over or dialogue.
And to use action to display character and emotion instead of letting characters explain why they do something or how they feel.
 
There are ways to use show don't tell, and ways to overuse! Make sure it fits your story. So does a chimera head actually eat someone in that scene? Or is this your way of telling us it has three heads, so you added it in? If this is the only reason, don't add it.

Example: A man is late for a meeting. "Show don't tell" may have you think to have him walk by a newsstand with a briefcase in a hurried pace and grab a donut without paying... yes, this "shows" he is late for a meeting, but it also labels your character a thief. So don't add it where you don't need it!

In screenwriting it usually applies to what Walter posted simply because movies are a visual medium so the writer often has to be reminded of this. It also applies to writing in general but I would not get too caught up in that. You don't need to show every little detail like your orange juice drops in the other thread, if it does not advance the story.
 
@indietalk Actually, I was talking about the Cerberus. But if you number among the snake tail (which have heads by the most statues) and the goat head. Then yes.

5462.jpg

The Chimera
 
Also if it has three heads it will be shown on screen with three heads. Show don't tell means, in the screenplay, don't TELL us things we cannot see on screen... SHOW them, and unless the screen is black, the chimera will be shown.
 
The best advice here is write a rough draft TO COMPLETION, go back and fix things. Once again you are lost in the details.

Get that first draft and you will feel a sense of accomplishment. Even knowing it sucks. That is your story, that is your foundation. You built your house, now you do the finishing details like painting and picking out faucets. :)

We can certainly help with the draft!
 
Exactly. Even w/o describing, when you say Chimera, that is what is on screen.

She is getting lost in this I think:

wikipedia:

Show, don't tell is a technique used in various kinds of texts to allow the reader to experience the story through action, words, thoughts, senses, and feelings rather than through the author's exposition, summarization, and description. It avoids adjectives describing the author's analysis, but instead describes the scene in such a way that the reader can draw his or her own conclusions. The technique applies equally to nonfiction and all forms of fiction, literature including Haiku and Imagism poetry in particular, speech, movie making, and playwriting.

The concept is often attributed to Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, reputed to have said "Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass."
(hence the orange juice drops)

But in screenwriting, since you are WRITING something that will later appear on SCREEN the definition is more what WalterB said. Thoughts and feelings are not used in visual media w/o visual aid.
 
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