21/12/2019 My Golden Rules to ‘Show Don’t Tell’ - The Writing Cooperative To make Medium work, we log user data. By using Medium, you agree to our Privacy Policy, including cookie policy. My Golden Rules to ‘Show Don’t Tell’ 6 useful tips I use in my writing Leona Brits Jul 27, 2018 · 6 min read Image source, here Show don’t tell is one of the most relevant writing techniques, it confers quality to the texts and involves the readers, it grabs them. What is Show don’t tell? Show don’t tell is easy to, theoretically, understand; however, it can be complex to apply it. https://writingcooperative.com/my-golden-rules-to-show-dont-tell-f4d030eca8c9 1/8 21/12/2019 My Golden Rules to ‘Show Don’t Tell’ - The Writing Cooperative But theMedium good news is, log once you understand it and use it, there’s no going your To make work, we user data. By using Medium, you agree to our Privacy Policy,back: including cookie policy. writing will include it, intuitively. The writer, Anton CheKhov, defined Show don’t tell like this: Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on the broken glass. The difference between Show and Tell As a writer, your goal is to provoke a reaction in your readers, take them to feel the emotions your character is feeling. The difference between show and tell is that, show invokes on the reader a mental image of the scene/emotion, while tell is a statement of an action/emotion. Image source, here https://writingcooperative.com/my-golden-rules-to-show-dont-tell-f4d030eca8c9 2/8 21/12/2019 My Golden Rules to ‘Show Don’t Tell’ - The Writing Cooperative Show To make Medium work, we log user data. By using Medium, you agree to our Privacy Policy, including cookie policy. Show is a tool used to pull the reader to a scene. By using it, you’re creating a connection between the reader and your scene/character. This happens because you’re making the reader interpret what’s happening, instead of telling him what he should understand or feel. Showing concrete and vivid details will make the reader create his own conclusions — that will be the same as yours, only he’s going to interpret them by himself. Show keeps the reader actively involved in the story. On the other hand, tell will keep him passive on the plot. Tell When you tell, you’re stealing to the reader the opportunity of discovering, by himself, the world you’ve created, to add something personal to the scene — for him to get involved. You won’t allow him to use his imagination, his experiences and, even, his personality, to make his conclusions. You’re imposing yours. You’ve kept your reader outside the story when what you want is the opposite. The reader doesn’t want to be told that the character is angry, sad or happy. He wants to feel it! When the writer shows the story from the character’s perspective, hardly the reader will drop the book — he’s living with the character, the events are his as well. The reader sees, listen, think and feels what the character lives; he has to interpret the meaning that you, as a writer, print it. The reader becomes part of the story: why would he abandon it? Applying Show don’t tell in your writing is harder, you’ll put more effort: you’ll need to uncover each emotion. But think about it: as a reader, do you prefer to feel a chill in your spine reading an erotic scene, or to read that same scene told as if a documentary, naming every feeling? https://writingcooperative.com/my-golden-rules-to-show-dont-tell-f4d030eca8c9 3/8 21/12/2019 My Golden Rules to ‘Show Don’t Tell’ - The Writing Cooperative Do you prefer to be a reader-spectator (excluded from the scene), or a reader-character (part of the plot)? To make Medium work, we log user data. By using Medium, you agree to our Privacy Policy, including cookie policy. . . . Source of image, here 6 tips to implement Show don’t tell in your writing 1. Use the character’s five senses Take the reader to the scene through the character’s five senses. Make a list of what the character sees, listen, feels, touch or taste. Then, rewrite the scene using strong verbs (more about this in the next tip). 2. Use strong verbs https://writingcooperative.com/my-golden-rules-to-show-dont-tell-f4d030eca8c9 4/8 21/12/2019 My Golden Rules to ‘Show Don’t Tell’ - The Writing Cooperative Strong verbs are the ones, thoseMedium, that “form the to past of their own To make Medium work, weirregular log user data. By using you agree ourtense Privacyout Policy, including cookie policy. without calling to their assistance any ending” (source: Garner’s Modern resources, American Usage, Bryan Garner, 2016). They are dynamic and, often, have a connotation of movement, they create a vivid image in the reader’s mind. For instance, the verbs love, hate, believe, belong, live, are static verbs. Unlike the strong verbs: walk, say, sell or think, that implicate an action from the subject. But this is not a rule to be always used. Weak verbs are part of the writing, and they have value. However, when writing crucial scenes, if you want to create tension or to highlight a scene, make sure to use strong verbs. 3. Avoid adverbs An adverb is a word that changes the meaning of the verb, adjective or another adverb. Using the previous tip, your verb will annul the need for an adverb. Adverbs distract the reader of the story, they put you, the writer, on the scene. It’s you who’s giving meaning to an action. Moreover, in the story, there’s only place for the characters and the reader (you don’t belong there). About the adverbs, Stephen King, in his book On Writing, a memoir of the craft, states: With adverbs, the writer usually tells us he or she is afraid he/she isn´t expressing himself/herself clearly. Take this as an example: “Richard walked, slowly, through the avenue.” Including the adverb, I’ve interfered with your reading. Instead, I could have shown, like this: “Richard walked on the avenue, he stopped to smell the flowers, he admired the blue sky, smiled at the squirrels, running up the trees.” If Richard were in a hurry, he wouldn’t stop to smell the flowers or look at the sky. Being descriptive, I’ve shown how Richard was calm and walking slow. Besides, I’ve also shown that Richard is a person sensitive to nature. If I wanted to let you know that he was angry, I would show him nagging about the children’s noise. https://writingcooperative.com/my-golden-rules-to-show-dont-tell-f4d030eca8c9 5/8 21/12/2019 My Golden Rules to ‘Show Don’t Tell’ - The Writing Cooperative Showing a scene, we are also allowing the reader to built a profile of the character. By himself, without our interference. To make Medium work, we log user data. By using Medium, you agree to our Privacy Policy, including cookie policy. When using adverbs (which is not wrong, they must be used spaced and only if they give real meaning to the sentence), access its combinations with the verbs. Image source, here 4. Be specific The more specific you are in the descriptions, the easier show will be. Being specific, you’ll fill the blank spaces left by your tell, and you’ll create a dynamic scene. Don’t spare in the wording; instead, use descriptions to show. Avoid generic terms: use concrete nouns, that will give the reader an image. If you want to say that that the character has a dog, show it’s happiness when his owner gets home. https://writingcooperative.com/my-golden-rules-to-show-dont-tell-f4d030eca8c9 6/8 21/12/2019 My Golden Rules to ‘Show Don’t Tell’ - The Writing Cooperative Again, there’s work, no need foruser you to apply rule in paragraph. Besides the fact you To make Medium we log data. By usingthis Medium, youevery agree to our Privacy Policy, including cookie don’t policy. want an exhaustive description, the specificity will increase the wording — find a balance. 5. Use dialogue Dialogue is the easiest way of showing. Dialogue is action in real-time, life occurring in that exact moment, a dialogue is always show. 6. Focus on actions and reactions Don’t tell the traits of the personality of your characters: show them through their actions. Allow the reader to see how the character acts and reacts to the events in the plot. That will reveal his personality. Instead of saying, “she’s a bad woman” describe her kicking a straight dog. You will, immediately, convince the reader that she’s not a good person. Besides, focus on body language and facial expressions: they are part of how we communicate. When we talk we react, physically. So, the characters should also have that. In each emotion, we react differently. For instance: I can swallow dry when I’m nervous, but if I’m worried I frown. Be aware of that and describe the character’s emotions through their body language. Conclusion With practice, show don’t tell will become easier, to a point whereas it’ll be spontaneous in your writing. . . . More articles on Writing: The writer’s voice: what is it and how to nd yours Writers wish their writing to be captivating, inspiring. No matter if it’s prose or poetry; novel… writingcooperative.com https://writingcooperative.com/my-golden-rules-to-show-dont-tell-f4d030eca8c9 7/8 21/12/2019 My Golden Rules to ‘Show Don’t Tell’ - The Writing Cooperative To make Medium work, we log user data. By using Medium, you agree to our Privacy Policy, including cookie policy. Writer’s block: the ve main reasons why you’re experiencing it and strategies to overcome it writingcooperative.com Lacking Authenticity in Your Writing? Try This 3 easy ways tips to regain your voice and engrave authenticity to your writing medium.com ) Writing Writing Tips Writers On Writing Creative Writing Writing Life About https://writingcooperative.com/my-golden-rules-to-show-dont-tell-f4d030eca8c9 Help Legal 8/8
