How do you "Show and Not Tell"

[Regine Masilang]

I don't know how to do it. Can anyone explain it to me or simply elaborate?

[Regine Masilang]

help?

[CB_Young]

It's a pretty simple idea that can be occasionally tricky to pull of, as telling tends to be easier, but not as satisfying for the reader. The basic idea is that rather than describing a character's attribute or ability, show a scenario where they actually use or demonstrate that ability.

For example, rather than having one character say that another character is a good writer, demonstrate it by perhaps giving a glimpse at said character's writing.

[Regine Masilang]

LostPriestess

It's a pretty simple idea that can be occasionally tricky to pull of, as telling tends to be easier, but not as satisfying for the reader. The basic idea is that rather than describing a character's attribute or ability, show a scenario where they actually use or demonstrate that ability.

For example, rather than having one character say that another character is a good writer, demonstrate it by perhaps giving a glimpse at said character's writing.

Oh... I never thought that it was more simple than I though how it really is xD
Thank you!

[DarknessofHeavenandDreams]

It's bad advice. It should be 'don't infodump.'

Telling is 'the one ring was forged by Sauron...' Showing is describing him forging it. Different situations call for different types of conveying what happened.

[Rhomeda]

"Showing, not telling" is one of the hardest yet most useful techniques you can learn in writing.

As DarknessofHeavenandDreams said above, don't infodump. "Showing, not telling" basically means using actions, dialogue, senses and so-on to tell the story, rather than using the short-cut of just explain everything to the readers in a simple sentence/paragraph.

Example:

- Darren had brown hair and blue eyes.

to

- Darren ran a shaky hand through his brown hair and eyed Sammy with concerned blue eyes.

OK, that's a terrible example, but you get the idea.

Another example (sort of); a few weeks back, I wrote a collection of short-stories based around a character called James, who had a daughter named Jasmine. Now, rather than saying:

- Jasmine was James' daughter.

Instead I used dialogue like:

- "I have to pick Jaz up from school later"

to make it obvious that James was most likely her father. (Not exactly what I wrote, but close.)

Or, rather than saying:

- Mike had kidnapped Ian's children.

You could use dialogue, like:

- Ian grabbed his wife by the shoulders, "He's got our children, Julie!" he shouted, "Your scum of an ex-husband has our children!"

Little things like that can make a story more natural, rather than forced and like you're trying to force infomation down the reader's throat.

In the end, it's all about practice, practice and practice and eventually it will come second-nature.
Good luck.

(Also, I would recommend The Road to Somewhere: A Creative Writing Companion by Dr Robert Graham, Dr Heather Leech and others which is extremely helpful - though it may be slightly pricey - but we've been using this book in our Creative Writing course at University and I've found it very useful.)

[Kita-Ysabell]

I think my version of "show, don't tell" is more "everything happens in real-time." You can't drop a lengthy description of a room in the readers' lap, you have to narrate as the semi-viewpoint character observes the room. You can't say that a character has certain personality traits, you have to let those traits play out.

The reason I don't repeat the mantra of "show, don't tell" is that I've seen instances where this turns succinct prose into a chain of unwieldy descriptions or emphasizes irrelevant details. We don't care what a random dude's cane looks like unless: a) it is a characteristic detail which provides information about a relatively important character's age, social standing, personal taste, or something of the sort or b) the cane itself is important to the story.

[Sir Icehawk]

DarknessofHeavenandDreams

It's bad advice. It should be 'don't infodump.'

Telling is 'the one ring was forged by Sauron...' Showing is describing him forging it. Different situations call for different types of conveying what happened.

It's alright advice for beginners, but it's far too vague. It tends to send newer writers into showing overdrive. Makes them almost fear telling anything.

In reality, it's a balancing act, and normally a mixture of showing and telling is often best.

[Regine Masilang]

DarknessofHeavenandDreams

Lady Rhomeda

Kita-Ysabell

Sir Icehawk

Thank you for telling me emotion_kirakira

[marshmallowcreampie]

The trick is to figure out the right time to show and the right time to tell, but Lady Rhomeda has the right idea. Instead of directly stating things, show them through actions or thoughts, or incorporate the details into the sentences. It feels a lot less forced. When people write things like "Tasha had long, dark brown hair and green eyes. She was very shy.", it feels like they're telling a bedtime story to a little kid and they need to get the details out fast.

[Regine Masilang]

marshmallowcreampie

Thank You~

[Evoblack]

It's a little bit hard, but one must take the viewpoint of the detached narrator. In this case, never go into the characters' minds. Simply observe them like one would something in reality. Try to decipher their motives from the outside and leave the reader to guess at what the character intends to do.

[Regine Masilang]

Evoblack

Thanks~

[Regine Masilang]

LostPriestess

DarknessofHeavenandDreams

Lady Rhomeda

Kita-Ysabell

Sir Icehawk

marshmallowcreampie

Evoblack

May I ask for one more question, please?
In terms of place, should I 'Show and Not Tell' ? If yes, how? I just can't think of a way to show it. Sorry if my question sounds dumb.

[Lazarus Larkin]

Well, if you're trying to describe your setting, think about what's actually important for your readers to know, and then figure out how to get that across. For instance, if you want to get across that your main character has a messy room, instead of just saying so, you might say something like, "He waded through the ankle-deep pile of dirty laundry on the floor and flopped down on his unmade bed."

It's hard to answer a question like that without knowing more specifically what you're having trouble with, though. Others in this thread have already pointed out that "Show, don't tell" is an overgeneralization and that there ARE times when just telling works fine.