Most of us, whether during a school class that you reluctantly sat through, or as an aspiring novelist or creative writer, have heard the saying “show not tell.” You may find these three words largely unimportant to your everyday life, or think that they are the most fascinating, useful piece of writing advice that you have ever heard. However, regardless of all of that, the idea of showing instead of telling is a vital part of creative writing of any kind. So, here are some useful little tidbits that I have learned about show not tell throughout my (admittedly short) journey as a creative writer.
What is “show not tell,” and how can we better understand it?
When seeking writing advice, one of the most common things that people hear is to show not tell. However, that idea can be difficult to understand at first, especially when no one takes the time to elaborate on the concept. Hence, here is a quick rundown of show, not tell.
Show not tell is a writing technique where the writer describes what is happening in a story, using descriptions to evoke emotions and lead the audience to conclusions and assumptions, without telling them point blank what is going on, or how they should be feeling.
Another way to look at it could be through the idea, “describe, don’t explain.” I first came across this through published writer and Youtuber, ShaelinWrites’ video, “My Top 12 Writing Tips! | Advice That Changed How I Write.” Although it is essentially just a simple rewording of the more well known phrase, it can help to see things in another perspective. Additionally, for someone who struggles more with things such as forming images in their heads or imagining scenarios, “show not tell” can be very confusing, whereas “describe, don’t explain” can make everything finally click, just as it did with me.
Now that we hopefully have a better understanding of show not tell, let us move on to the tidbits!
The Bigger the Issue, the Smaller You Write
There is a quote from American novelist Richard Price that can give a valuable insight into writing. He said: “The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance.”
Think about some of the most revealing or impactful moments that you have seen or read. Did they come from some vague description of overthrowing an evil oligarchy that dominates over the kingdom, or a drawn out explanation of how the protagonist’s mother was absent throughout a large part of her life? No, that was likely not the case. In fact, the things that tend to stick with an audience are more likely to be the satisfaction of seeing that one vile, overpowered antagonist finally being thrown over. Or that devastating moment when there is a wholesome interaction between a mother and child, and the camera pans over to the protagonist who is happy for them, yet is recalling painful, lonely memories of her own mother, and yearning for that kind of a relationship herself.
Essentially, the key in making an audience emphasize and feel engaged with your story is to give everything a face. Yes, it is bad to have characters and scenes that do not help move the story forward, but even worse than that is to explain to your audience that they should care about something without actually making them care. They will know what you, the author, want them to feel, but they won’t actually feel it. In fact, they are more likely to feel that the author underestimates their ability to infer and pick up on things, or disengage them from the story entirely, which is the absolute opposite of what you want to happen. It is much easier said than done, but you must find a balance between giving a character enough of a face and purpose to get your audience engaged, but do not try to explain the story to them as if they are children. Once again, show not tell. Describe, don’t explain.
Matching Perspective and Experience With Description
Understandably, while you are writing an exciting, fast-paced scene, you may want to describe all the exhilarating scenes in great detail, and not risk your audience not knowing every single thing that happens. Similarly, when writing a slower, more boring scene, you may feel the need to speed things up so that you can get to the exciting parts as quickly as possible. However, my advice is that you do the exact opposite of that.
You see, if you want your audience engaged, you must carry them away, and make them feel as if they were truly a part of your story. A valuable thing to keep in mind is that if you want to sweep people off their feet and straight into your fictional tale, you must be believable on all levels. This includes things that are significantly less obvious than thrilling descriptions of action and moving declarations of unconditional love. To match the level of description to the perspectives and experiences of your narrator.
Think about this: what kind of person is your narrator? What kind of things would they notice, and what would they be oblivious to? If your narrator is someone who is a little clumsy, always in a hurry, and with their heads in the clouds, would they be the sort of person to notice minimal changes in someone’s body language that could indicate interest or attraction? If your character’s survival or career has depended on observation skills and manipulating people, would they really be ignorant of as many things as the average citizen? Descriptions of a scene should tell people what is going on, but they should also very much stay in character. A 12 year old child will have an inner voice that differs from a 16 year old athlete, and one that is not even close to the inner voice of a two thousand year old god.
Additionally, the amount of description in a scene should fit the experience. If your character is frantically fleeing from an authority figure, trying not to panic or make a slip up, they are more likely to notice the sparsest details of their surroundings. Perhaps how cold the air is as they sprint through the field, but not necessarily the suspicious nature of a young man, looking on from an alley. If your character is sitting alone in the brief “calm before the storm” period of the story, they have the time, space and interest to mull over the littlest details of the story. They are likely to reflect on what has happened so far, notice what is going on around them, and even stress over what may happen in the future.
Practice Descriptions Without All Five Senses
On another note, something that can really help improve your more descriptive scenes is to describe the entire thing without the use of one of the five senses. Often, the most widely used sense in writing is visual description, so we can use that as an example. You can write something from the perspective of a blind character. How would they notice things, or feel them, without the aid of a sense that most of us take for granted, not only in real life but also in media? How would a blind character react to the stimuli of the world around them? How would they notice the sounds, tastes, smells and feels of the world around them? This exercise can teach you to describe something, instead of seeing it and explaining it. You can polish up your ability to show things through the use of your select few senses, instead of telling the audience what is happening.
Write Around the Egg
Say someone gives you a sheet of standard white paper and a box of coloured pencils. Say they ask you to draw them an egg. You may have some concerns, such as if you don’t feel very confident in your drawing skills, or if they set a time limit that you don’t think you can match. However, a concern that you likely wouldn’t have is that you do not have a white pencil. To draw a white egg on a white paper, you do not need a white pencil. Instead, all you need is the colours to draw around the egg. The dark shadow that a light casts on one side of the egg. The yellow luminance of said light shining on the egg, and the reflection of a checkered cloth that you can see in it. You don’t need to colour the egg in with white, because we all know that the egg is white. Not to mention, the details around the egg tell us all that we need and more.
Writing is similar to this. We will know that having a boyfriend makes our character happy. So don’t tell us how much he loves his partner, or how overjoyed he is to have patched up an argument. Show us how he lights up when his boyfriend walks into the room. How his worries and concerns seem to melt away in the presence of his partner. How his eyes shine, and he becomes more determined than ever to achieve his goal, and how the boys express their love in tender, unspoken gestures. If you must have your characters kiss, or be intimately affectionate for the audience to understand that they are in love, you haven’t described it very well. Because through descriptions of a comfortable banter, or the way one looks at the other, you can write around the relationship and describe the love. It is a writer’s way of drawing around the egg.
Clear Before Clever
Finally, the last thing to keep in mind is that the most important thing is for your audience to understand the story. Yes, using big, fancy, “fifty cent words” is fun and appealing. However, big words are not what make you sound more intelligent, or what engages the reader. Those things are achieved by clarity, and clarity only. Knowing what you want to write, having a distinct author’s voice, and other such things are what really keeps a reader engaged. In fact, if your reader needs to put their book down every few paragraphs in order to look something up in a dictionary, it takes away from the experience of feeling like they are truly within the story. So, never forget the importance of show not tell, but never give up your clarity for cleverness.
