How to Show, Not Tell: The Complete Writing Guide

Diane Callahan - Quotidian Writer

2 Oct 202027:18

EducationalLearning

32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRThe video explains the common writing advice to 'show, not tell,' analyzing what that means and when telling is appropriate. It traces the phrase's history to early 20th century literary critics lauding realist novelists for making stories feel lived-in. The host then offers practical strategies for stronger showing, like using sensory details, action, dialogue, and a distinct narrative voice to prove claims instead of just stating them, allowing readers to reach conclusions themselves.

Takeaways

😀 Telling summarizes while showing dramatizes using sensory details and actions.
📝 Include concrete evidence like visuals and dialogue to support claims instead of just stating them.
🌟 Replace vague language with specific sensory details to make scenes feel immersive.
🎥 Use the "camera test" - can a detail be visualized? If not, show it through actions.
🤔 Show internal thought processes instead of only physical reactions to reveal nuanced emotions.
🗣 Convey personality and feelings through subtext in dialogue instead of explanation.
🖋 Filter observations and information through the lens of the point-of-view character.
⏩ Use telling to breeze through unimportant moments and repetition.
🔍 Show key events using emotional progression and sensations.
📚 Study show vs tell to identify areas needing more concrete details and action.

Q & A

What is the main distinction between showing and telling in writing?
-Showing dramatizes a scene by providing vivid sensory details and allowing readers to come to their own conclusions, while telling summarizes events and emotions by directly stating them.
Why is showing often more effective than telling?
-Showing pulls readers into the story and allows them to visualize scenes and emotionally connect with characters. Telling distances readers by stating ideas outright instead of letting them interpret events.
What are some common places where telling is appropriate in a story?
-Telling works well for summarizing unimportant events, conveying the passage of time, providing concise backstory details, and sharing a character's thoughts.
How can dialogue be used to show emotion effectively?
-Emotional dialogue conveys feeling through tone, volume, word choice, and phrasing rather than relying on adverbs or explanation. It allows readers to deduce emotions based on what characters say.
What are some ways to show an attribute like intelligence rather than just stating it?
-Instead of saying "he was smart," provide evidence like mentioning a time the character Macgyvered a solution from odd items, showed keen insight solving a mystery, or used scientific knowledge to get out of a tough situation.
How can sensory details help make showing more vivid?
-Invoking senses like sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell through concrete details allows readers to vividly imagine scenes. Unique sensory imagery helps make show sequences immersive.
What is an example of how word choice can show emotion?
-Instead of writing that a character felt anxious, you could show it by saying her thoughts were spinning, her heartbeat stumbled, or her palms moistened with apprehension. Vivid verbs convey feeling.
When is telling acceptable in a story?
-Telling works well for transitional summaries conveying the passage of time, providing concise backstory details, and efficiently communicating information unimportant to the main narrative.
How can narrative voice strengthen showing?
-An interesting narrative voice filters scene details through the lens of the viewpoint character. Unique perspective makes even ordinary observations compelling.
Why combine showing and telling?
-The most effective stories blend showing and telling. Too much showing slows pacing with unnecessary details, while pure telling distances the reader. Balance helps modulation.

Outlines

00:00

😟 Girl Overcomes Fear in the Wilderness

A girl who is initially afraid in the wilderness touches the ground and feels a connection to it, overcoming her fear. The passage is criticized for telling the reader how to feel rather than showing evidence that elicits emotion.

05:02

😀 Six Principles for Stronger Showing in Writing

The author provides six principles for showing rather than telling in writing: 1) Use evidence to support claims about characters. 2) Replace abstract concepts with concrete details. 3) Substitute vague descriptions with specific sensory details. 4) Avoid over-relying on body language. 5) Show emotion through dialogue. 6) Filter observations through the narrative voice.

10:03

📚 Context and History of "Show Don't Tell"

The author explains the origins of "show don't tell" as a writing mantra, tracing back to critic Percy Lubbock's 1921 book that aimed to turn the author into an invisible narrator per the rise of literary realism and make the reader feel immersed.

15:06

🤔 When to Show vs When to Tell

The author notes that telling and showing both have purposes in writing. Telling can quickly convey time passing or facts. Showing pulls readers into important moments and makes them visualize scenes and feel emotions.

20:08

😊 Example of Strong Showing in Final Paragraph

The author ends by sharing an excerpt from the novel Where the Crawdads Sing that exemplifies showing over telling, with poetic language conveying the character's emotions through actions and connections to nature rather than explicit statements.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡showing

Showing is a writing technique that provides vivid sensory details and evidence to illustrate a scene, character, or emotion rather than just stating it. Showing allows readers to visualize the story and immerse themselves in it. The video emphasizes the power of showing through examples like describing smiles, actions, and thoughts that reveal a character's happiness rather than simply stating 'he was happy'.

💡telling

Telling summarizes events or states information directly without providing evidence to back it up. While too much telling can make writing boring, some telling is necessary to move the story along. The video gives tips for identifying excessive telling and replacing it with showing for pivotal emotional moments.

💡sensory details

Sensory details related to sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell make writing more vivid and help show emotional experiences. The video encourages writers to use concrete, sensory evidence over vague adjectives when showing characters' perceptions and feelings.

💡evidence

Backing up claims about a character with examples and proof brings them to life for readers. The video stresses grounding telling statements like 'she was scared' with evidence like physical actions, dialogue, or thought process that show the fear unfolding.

💡action

Characters' actions and choices reveal personality and emotion better than direct statements from the author. The video suggests showing feelings through non-verbal behaviors, substituting generic verbs like 'was' with specific actions.

💡voice

A narrative's voice or perspective shapes how scenes are described. The video advocates filtering details through a viewpoint character's lens so readers feel close to their experiences.

💡dialogue

Dialogue shows emotion effectively through tone, word choice, volume, etc. Rather than stating 'she was angry,' writers can demonstrate it with heated, tense dialogue the reader interprets.

💡specificity

Vague, abstract language doesn't engage readers emotionally. As the video emphasizes, showing requires specific sights, textures, and more that create a vivid scene.

💡imagery

Strong imagery that appeals to the senses helps writers show characters' inner lives, rather than baldly telling the audience what they think and feel.

💡nuance

Showing allows writers to reveal emotional nuance - precise shifts and complexities within a feeling. It moves beyond one-dimensional states like 'he was sad' to the specific thoughts, actions and stimuli that comprise an emotional experience.

Highlights

"Showing dramatizes. Telling summarizes."

"Make the audience put things together. Don’t give them four, give them two plus two."

"Storytelling without dialogue. It's the purest form of cinematic storytelling."

"We're born problem solvers. We're compelled to deduce and to deduct, because that's what we do in real life."

"The key to making your audience care in fiction is to imply your meaning rather than always pointing it out."

"Give the reader the same evidence the character uses when it comes to assumptions or opinions."

"You can pull readers into the story by presenting evidence—and letting them come to their own conclusions."

"Replace abstract concepts like 'marveled' or 'wondrous' with concrete actions that allow the reader to infer the emotion."

"Word choice and sentence structure can be a form of showing."

"Let your characters’ emotions color the way they see their surroundings."

"Showing in dialogue often means including less detail."

"Telling and showing are tools to control pacing. They help you focus and immerse the reader in important moments."

"Sometimes readers want to be told what’s happening, as if we’re listening to an oral storyteller spin a good yarn."

"Your first draft will often contain more telling than showing. During revisions, you can go through and highlight parts that need more flavor."

"Still there, but deep. Kya laid her hand upon the breathing, wet earth, and the marsh became her mother."

Transcripts

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