Thoughts on helpfulness (of the fictional variety)

An actual post about writing! I know, it seems like I hardly make those anymore.

I got a bit inspired by reading a rather good post by kateelliott on how to create deep, vibrant characters within a story, which I do recommend reading. I think that any writer at any level can benefit from this post, either as a lesson or just a refresher course on what does and doesn't work. I especially like that she says:

Aside: That I am a big fan of the adage “Show, don’t Tell” doesn’t mean there are never appropriate times to use Tell as one of the tools in your writing toolkit. There are. You just need to know when and why it works.

This is the essence of good writing advice. Remember that stories are as varied as people, so there is a time and a place for just about everything. It's just that knowing that time and place for things is 80% of human wisdom when it comes to writing.

So keep that in mind. What I'm about to say also is something that's conditional, and dependent upon what's going on in an individual story.

( Thoughts on helpfulness of the fictional variety and why I think it can really hurt a story )