Show vs. tell, part 1 of 2

Creating the story in the reader’s mind

Introduction

“Show, don’t tell” is a mantra among writers and editors. You will no doubt hear this command over and over from many different sources.

The problem is that it’s not often fully explained. I certainly won’t try to fully explain it here. Much of it falls into the category of “I know when I see it.”

It’s not one thing. It’s a combination of many factors and writing techniques.

We’ve already discussed quite a few of them, so we’ll review some topics briefly and hit on a few more aspects of writing that can create a “showing scene” rather than a “telling narrative.”

Photo by Felipe Bustillo on Unsplash

To complicate matters even more, sometimes you need to tell, not show. If you ever hear an expert say something like, “Always show, never tell,” you can pretty much ignore everything they say.

“Show, don’t tell” is generally good advice for most scenes. You want to immerse your readers in the “now, as it happens” on the page, surround them with the setting, the scenery, the characters, the dialogue, the emotions. You want your readers to feel like they are experiencing the moment at the same time as the character experiences it.

But if you tried to “show” every moment in the story, your book would probably be 1,926 pages and no one would want to read it. It takes more time and more words to show a scene.

There are moments that need to be “told,” not “shown.” This is what narrative and narrative summaries are for. Transitions. Set-up. A brief tidbit of back story or context. Then it slides back into a live-action scene.

We’ll get into some specifics that can help add “show” to your writing, your scenes, and your story. But first, let’s define it.

What is “Show vs. Tell”

Showing versus telling can also be described as: