Unpopular opinion, but "show, don't tell" is actually really effective narrative advice, and y'all just wanna wear jeans in church and write huge tracts of backstory exposition nonsense.

Lyrical nonsense is the new hysterical realism, and it started with y'all taking show, don't tell out of schools! Sorry! I don't make the rules!

Literally, no one has ever said, "please do not articulate that emotion through concrete and character-rooted narrative action because I would like you to just say that this character is sad.'

"Hello, yes, please do not express the motives of your character through action and please only ever declare them directly and leave them there. Thank you."

Yadda, yadda, "Back in the olden days, books used to have long expository sections and no one ever did anything other than talk!"

I mean. Sure, but also, those characters were arguing real ideas. Characters today are just sad that their salad spot moved to another part of town.

Y'all be wilding.

I'm not one of your little friends. I believe in S C E N E S.

That said, "Seeing Ershadi" slaps.