I sat in a window seat on the plane with my nose stuck in my newly purchased book. It was one of those books that suck you right in, leaving you completely unaware of your surrounding, which is exactly what I needed to save me from what otherwise would have been a monotonous travel day, full of weather delays and missed connections. At my next stop, as I waited in an endless line to find out which flight was available for me now that I missed my connection, I was an island of contentment surrounded by a sea of angry and frustrated individuals, and all because I had a good story to occupy me.

I got to thinking about why certain stories are so riveting, why others are just so-so. What I decided was that a good author doesn’t simply tell you the story, they show you the story as if you are there, revealing the plot with actions of the characters, and not just with explanations. The act of showing, rather than telling, is very powerful, and can turn a story from “boring” to “best seller.”

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