On Tuesday, April 19, Shelley Harrison Rae presented a workshop on one of the Cardinal Rules for most forms of writing, namely show don’t tell. Shelley read us from different pieces of both fiction and non-fiction to show us what this looked like. She spoke of different techniques to help a writer achieve this word picture such as through the use of dialogue, or by using the five senses or by employing simile and metaphor.

As music played in the background, approximately thirty writers tried their hand with a few different exercises to practice the techniques of showing and not telling. There were no rules except to keep the pen moving on the paper. After writing for ten minutes, what was written was read out loud by several in the audience. The various pieces produced a lot of laughter and a few tears and clearly engaged the audience. We "got it".

Shelley has herself published poetry, short stories, personal essays, magazine and newspaper articles as well as working as a non-fiction editor and manuscript coach. She is presently working on a novel based on her own life and a book based on her Wordlink Workshops.