[hovering_nox]

> “He laughed with a booming abandon that made the whole restaurant turn around and look.”

Don't the people in the restaurant actually turn around in this sentence, whereas they didn't in the original, because it's just describing a kind of loudness with an example?

> “He laughed with the kind of booming abandon that makes the whole restaurant turn around and look.”

[jmmcd]

> Don't the people in the restaurant actually turn around in this sentence, whereas they didn't in the original

No, the original said "made", so I think they actually turned around.

[bregma]

Well, yes, but one is telling and one is showing. A good story teller shows and not tells.

[coldtea]

That's just a literary superstition, similar to absolutes we tell kids such as "you should never lie" (that in real life are never that clear cut).

A good story teller can both show and tell, depending on whatever fits the story, their stylistic choice, and their intention.