Writers Quote Wednesday: Anton Chekhov

 

Well I enjoyed participating in Silver Threading’s writer’s quote Wednesday so much last week that I decided to take part again. Here’s the link if you’d like to join in: http://silverthreading.com/2015/05/20/writers-quote-wednesday-g-k-chesterton/#respond

There is something quite surreal about this picture of the moon seen on the edge of some broken glass. It’s almost as if the moon has been captured in an imperfect cut glass triangle. It reminded me of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album cover too!

 

 

Somehow it seems to be a perfect tribute to one of my favourite writer’s quotes, which sums up the Show don’t Tell rule perfectly:

Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. Anton Chekhov.

Well Mr. Chekhov that might be a short succinct quote, but it captures the pure essence of one of the important rules of writing oh so eloquently.

 

Anton Chekhov Biography below –  taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/108392/Anton-Chekhov

Anton Chekhov, in full Anton Pavlovich Chekhov   (born Jan. 29 [Jan. 17, Old Style], 1860, Taganrog, Russia—died July 14/15 [July 1/2], 1904, Badenweiler, Ger.), major Russian playwright and master of the modern short story. He was a literary artist of laconic precision who probed below the surface of life, laying bare the secret motives of his characters. Chekhov’s best plays and short stories lack complex plots and neat solutions. Concentrating on apparent trivialities, they create a special kind of atmosphere, sometimes termed haunting or lyrical. Chekhov described the Russian life of his time using a deceptively simple technique devoid of obtrusive literary devices, and he is regarded as the outstanding representative of the late 19th-century Russian realist school.