{"id":5084,"date":"2022-07-21T11:30:58","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T15:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apexauthors.com\/?p=5084"},"modified":"2024-01-11T11:32:27","modified_gmt":"2024-01-11T16:32:27","slug":"guide-to-show-vs-tell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apexauthors.com\/guide-to-show-vs-tell\/","title":{"rendered":"A Guide to “Show vs Tell”"},"content":{"rendered":"
When your writing doesn\u2019t paint much of a picture, instead relying too much on telling, it doesn\u2019t connect with the reader on an emotional level. It fails to inspire, frighten, embolden, disappoint, or engage. That\u2019s why writing instructors keel telling you to show, not tell.<\/p>\n
But what do they mean by that?\u00a0<\/p>\n
A lot of experts will give you that advice, but not be able to drill down into the difference between them. Others will give a definition, but you\u2019ll get different definitions from different experts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of my favorites is K.M. Weiland\u2019s:<\/p>\n
Showing dramatizes. Telling summarizes.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
So let\u2019s talk about the differences.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important to note that it\u2019s not always bad to tell. If you showed every single time something happened, and every single thing in your book, it would be too long and incomprehensible. You\u2019d also give your reader sensory overload to the point they can\u2019t figure out which parts of what you\u2019re describing they\u2019re supposed to pay the most attention to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Use telling when you want to do any of the following things:<\/p>\n
By contrast, you should show when you want to invite your reader to immerse themselves in the scene and have an emotional connection with what\u2019s going on there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For example, imagine writing a love scene where your protagonist meets their one true love for the first time. You might tell about the garden and its flowers, the weather, and the other people in the crowd\u2026but you would show them about the true love\u2019s sparkling eyes, ready smile, and cutting wit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Make sense? Okay, good. Now let\u2019s talk about five strategies you can use to show instead of tell where your manuscripts demands.<\/p>\n
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