Use Sensory Details: Rather than telling your readers about an event, a character, or a setting, invite them to experience it. Use descriptive language to engage their senses. Describe what your characters see, hear, touch, taste, and smell to create an immersive experience.
Reveal Character Through Action: Instead of telling your readers about a character’s traits, show them through the character’s actions, reactions, decisions, and dialogues. For instance, instead of writing, “Jack was a generous person,” show Jack helping a stranger or sharing his meal with a friend.
Display Emotions: Instead of telling readers how a character feels, show the emotion through the character’s actions, words, and body language. For example, instead of writing, “Jack was nervous,” you could write, “Jack’s hands trembled as he fumbled with his keys.”
Utilize Dialogue: Dialogue can be a powerful tool for showing instead of telling. Through conversation, you can reveal character traits, relationships, emotions, and plot developments without having to explicitly describe them.
Incorporate Symbolism and Metaphor: Symbolism and metaphor are potent tools that can suggest deeper meanings and emotions. Instead of telling your readers that a character feels trapped, you might describe a bird fluttering against a closed window.
Keep ‘Telling’ in Mind: While ‘showing’ is often more engaging, ‘telling’ has its place in narrative writing as well. Telling can be useful for conveying information efficiently, summarizing events that aren’t crucial to the plot, or transitioning between scenes or time periods. The key is to find a balance between showing and telling that serves your story.
Revise with ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ in Mind: When revising your work, look for opportunities to replace instances of ‘telling’ with ‘showing.’ This might involve expanding scenes, adding dialogue, incorporating sensory details, or revealing character traits through action.
Mastering ‘show, don’t tell’ is a fundamental skill in creative writing, one that takes time and practice to develop. Remember, the goal is not to eliminate all instances of ‘telling,’ but rather to engage your readers, inviting them to experience your narrative alongside your characters. Through the effective use of ‘show, don’t tell,’ you can make your stories more vivid, immersive, and compelling.
