Show, Don’t Tell: 3 Tips to master the art

Pull the reader in and spark their imagination!

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Every writer has heard the advice “show, don’t tell” but what does it actually mean? Does it matter?

Yes, it does matter and it matters a lot! Imagine reading a scene where a character is just “angry”. Not much, right? Now how about one where they “crush a coffee cup in their fist, hot liquid seeping through their clenched fingers.” The difference is visceral!

But what’s the difference you might ask? It’s easy: “telling” states facts while “showing” plunges readers into the story’s sensory world, letting them experience emotions, settings, and conflicts.

In this post, I’ll break down three actionable ways to help you ditch the boring exposition and craft prose that resonates with readers and has emotional impact. Let’s do it!

1. "Showing" Creates Immersive Stories

2. "Show" Effectively: Techniques and Examples

3. When to Show vs. Tell

1. The Power of ‘showing’ Sensory Detail

Read this:

The forest was creepy at night.

Pretty bland, no? Now read it again with ‘showing’:

A ghostly breeze swayed the heads of the trees as gnarled branches clawed at the moonlit sky. The night air hung thick with smell of decaying leaves and wood.

Big difference right? Just by reading that, you get the idea the forest is “creepy” so there’s no need to ‘tell’ the reader. We can feel how eerie the setting is by the “ghostly breeze”, “gnarled branches” and “decaying leaves”.

For example, in Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling doesn’t say “Hogwarts is magical”. She describes moving staircases, whispering portraits and enchanted ceilings. In Lord Of The Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien describes the Balrog as a:

…figure cloaked in flame and shadow, its mane a whip of smoke, and eyes like pits into a burning abyss. The air choked with ash as it roared—a sound like boulders grinding in the belly of the earth—and its shadow spread like wings, blotting out the dim light of Gandalf’s staff.

Now imagine Tolkien wrote, “it was a beast on fire.” Not very immersive is it? So why does this work? Our brains are wired to engage with vivid imagery and not simple ‘tell’ words. Readers need sensory details to be part of the story. They need to feel like they’re part of the story and experiencing their surroundings as if they’re in it!

Pull your readers in with sensory details (smell, touch), character actions (clenched fist, pinched stare) and subtext to convey emotions and atmosphere (His finger tapped on the table like a ticking clock. Neither of them spoke. Finally, he sighed.)

2. How to “Show”

In order to ‘show’ effectively, think about what emotion(s) you want to convey in any given scene and setting. Here are a few tips to help.

• Let the environment do the talking:

  • The setting is your greatest ally in conveying and influencing mood. A “raging storm outside a tense family dinner”, amplifies and mirrors the conflict happening.

• Use action and dialogue:

  • Actions speak louder than words. Let your characters convey their emotions through their movements. Instead of “she was respectful,” write “she took the time to look at me directly, listening with wide-eyed wonder.”

• Use subtle behaviors:

  • Convey emotions through subtle gestures. For example, a character “bit her lip” during an argument shows the reader she was “anxious.”

Here’s an example:

• Telling:

  • Nana was heartbroken. She knew Noah didn’t love her anymore.

• Showing:

  • Nana traced the rim of her coffee cup, her fingers absently tapping the rim. Noah stirred his untouched espresso for the third time, the spoon clinking inside the cup like a ticking clock. Neither of them spoke. Outside, rain tapped against the window. Finally, Noah sighed. “So… how’s work?”

    Nana forced a smile. “Busy…”

See how effective showing is in conveying the mood of the scene and displaying emotion? Such as Nana’s absentminded tapping and Noah’s repetitive stirring suggesting discomfort and hesitation; the lack of dialogue (forced small talk) hinting at tension, and the rain tapping against the window making a bleak mood. Readers cool feel the emotion and tension rather than been told about it.

3. When to show and not tell

There is a balance when showing versus telling. Overloading a description to convey a mood can slow down the pace of your story. This makes the reader feel like your novel drags on forever and never getting straight to the action. Sometimes, ‘telling’ is efficient in some cases. So when does ‘telling’ work?

‘Telling’ has it's place in:

• Pacing and Delivering Backstory

  • Summarize scenes that don’t add much to the plot, like time jumps, transition scenes or quickly delivering backstory (ie., “Ten years had passed”). During a fast-paced scene, over-explaining every sensory detail slows down the pacing. Keep it simple and the story moving, especially if you’re writing an action-adventure novel.

• Clarity of information

  • Sometimes, direct and point-blank facts are best. No need overly describe key exposition or information. For example, in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J.K. Rowling writes, “Harry had spent his childhood sleeping in a cupboard under the stairs." This delivers crucial information but without describing the details of Harry’s upbringing.

The key point here is to let the reader know, not feel, the information. In other words, use ‘telling’ to provide clarity when scenes don’t need dramatization. This keeps the story engaging without unnecessary “bloating” of descriptions.

I hope this post provided some clarity into the difference between ‘showing’ and ‘telling’. With the knowledge you can now craft an immersive and engaging story that’ll make readers keep turning that page! Good luck, you got this!

Courtesy EasyTeaching.

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