I always love when a literary piece ends up in my feed from HN because I can always guess the one of three users who posted it (usually one of lermontov, apollinaire, or samclemens—there may be a couple of others). I just want to say that this English major appreciates your work and the variety you bring here. I’ve found some excellent stuff because of y’all.
"Show don't tell" has been a disaster for mankind. I'm sick of authors turning every scene (especially openings) into a puzzle because just telling the reader what's going on would be too low-brow for them. If telling, or even summarizing, your story in a straight manner makes it bad, you just have a bad story. Part of the reason why Harry Potter was so ridiculously successful even before the movies is that it broke this rule. Intended as a children's book this was probably deemed necessary, but in reality it's just better writing, period.
I dont perceive openings as puzzles. Do you have an example of what you mean?
Also, how is Harry Potter breaking show dont tell rule?