8/2/2023 0 Comments Telling my story over blogTo break down this technique even further, here are a few additional "show, don't tell" examples of authors showing rather than telling in their writing. Strike the right balance by alternating between simple and complex sentences and ideas, and different types of sensory detail, so the reader doesn’t get overloaded on one type. Some of the orange facade crumbled in my hand as I picked it up. Just right: It was heavier than it looked. Too much detail: The statue felt rough, its aged facade caked with dust and grime as I weighed it in my hand, observing its jagged curves and Fanta-colored hue. This kind of excessively ornate language can be just as bad as “telling” language that’s too basic, as it may cause the reader to lose interest in your super-dense prose. However, that doesn’t mean you should include too many details, especially those that are overly embellished. Strong, vivid details are crucial to the process of showing. Through action, you’re able to describe the setting of the scene while also maintaining your story’s forward motion. A clump of pigeons scattered in front of him. St Mark’s clocktower had struck one and Enzo found himself pushing against the tide of tourists milling towards the cafes lining the Piazza San Marco. Instead of describing the pigeons, the tourists and the layout of the space, you can evoke it through action: Let’s say you start your scene with your character walking through St Mark’s Square in Venice. And that’s where showing action comes in handy. However, it’s still important to evoke the setting and put your scene in context. Imagine having to describe the setting every time your characters enter a new space - any pace you had built in your chapter would be destroyed. “Telling” almost always grinds your narrative momentum to a halt. A character’s speech will tell the reader a lot about them, especially when they’re first being introduced.ĭo they use long sentences and polysyllabic words or do they prefer short, punchy replies? Are there likely to use slang and call an authority figure “dude” or “fam” or will they address them respectfully as “Mr. In addition to setting, you can also use dialogue to demonstrate story elements beyond the surface conversation. Showing: The dry orange leaves crunched under my feet as I pulled the collar up on my coat. It was already Fall and I was getting cold. This is a particularly good way to lend immediacy to your story, as the reader should be able to imagine themselves in that very setting. You can do this by writing about how characters perceive and interact with their surroundings, weaving plenty of sensory details and occasional action into the scene. One of the best ways to show rather than tell is to create a sense of setting. Let's start with one of the most important aspects of storytelling. Here are five key tips on how to show rather than tell in a story 4 Practical 'Show, Don’t Tell' Tips Takes one minute!Īll right, that’s enough theory for now! Let’s talk about how you can show, not tell, in your own work. In this post, we'll show you why Show Don't Tell is the most popular "rule" in creative writing and show you how you can add some "showing" skills to your toolkit.įind out which of today's greats is your writerly match. The reader can deduce the same information they’d get from the “telling” example but in a much more compelling way. In the “showing” example, rather than merely saying that Michael is afraid of the dark, we’ve put him in a situation where his experience of that fear takes center stage. Telling: Michael was terribly afraid of the dark. He huddled under the covers, gripped the sheets, and held his breath as the wind brushed past the curtain. Showing: As his mother switched off the light and left the room, Michael tensed. In short: showing illustrates, while telling merely states. Show me the glint of light on broken glass." In his oft-repeated quoted, Anton Chekhov said, “Don’t tell me the moon is shining. It fosters a more immersive writing style for the reader, allowing them to “be in the room” with the characters. Show, don’t tell is a writing technique in which story and characters are related through sensory details and actions rather than exposition.
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