Lexicon: Show, Don't Tell

Show, Don’t Tell: is a phrase that reminds writers to give the reader evidence so that they come to the concluding thought with the protagonist of the story instead of the reader being told what to think.

Let’s look at two statements:

She was a raven haired beauty from the gods.

Her black hair curled into delicate ringlets to frame a pale face with the barest touch of eyeliner and lipstick.

First line: Telling, Second line: Showing. Why does someone not wear much makeup? Because they are beautiful enough without it.

Showing always takes longer than telling, but it gives the reader so much more to consider. Who would concentrate on curled hair and makeup to decide if someone was beautiful? 

• A man or a woman? 
• Young or old? 
• A hair stylist or an up and coming actor? 

When you know Who is thinking, you’ll know exactly What they would be thinking about.

Whatever style you’re narrating in (first or third) this will help the reader sink into the mind of the current protagonist. 

• A fashion designer will always look at clothes, 
• an art student will notice every picture during a shopping excursion,
• a perfume seller will notice the natural scents on a hike and other hikers. 

Know your character and what to show will be easy.

How do you know when to Tell vs. when to Show? Gear your brain for Showing everything that is important to the novel and you’ll find yourself telling the readers less. Yes, there will be some instances throughout the novel where telling is necessary, but make it short, and make the protagonist desperate to hear about the new information so that the reader will also be excited to finally know the answers.

Genre is definitely important – Sci-fi gets away with telling because they have to explain how different technologies work, but a romance will drag if given the same treatment. Pick up a good book you’ve already read in your genre, flip to a random page, and try to identify how much telling vs. showing is going on.