Blue and Moon

"Don't tell me the moon 
is shining. Show me the glint 
of light on broken glass."

—Anton Chekhov

That quote brings back a memory. I'm awash with memories this month! Perhaps it is the nostalgia that comes with birthdays once you reach a certain age. Anyway, I remember showing my mother a story I had written when I was seven or eight years old, and she responded with a comment that had been made to her by a teacher when she was a student. She said, "Don't tell me the Duchess raved. Bring out the Duchess and let her rave!" Thanks to my mother, I was not yet ten years old when I learned the difference between "showing" and "telling." At work, when we editors write comments on each other's stories, the comment I most hate to see is "telling, not showing." But when I do see it, I remember my mother and her Duchess raving, and I know what to do.