Showing Vs Telling

A Short-and-Sweet Guide to Support Writers

Firstly – what does it mean?

Okay. So, you'll no doubt find stacks of information on the internet, and in books, that mentions the golden rule of 'showing vs telling', and the subject as a whole is far too dense to compile simply into a blog post, but we'll do our best to summarise here and juggle the eggs without breaking them, so to speak.

To put it simply:

When we "tell", we are only providing the reader with baseline information that does not immerse them into the story.

When we "show", we are effectively immersing said reader into the world of the characters, using a combination of sensory details and visual imagery.

Here's an example:

Telling: 

Edmund was very angry. He shouted at his parents and ran off to his bedroom in a bad mood. 

Showing: 

Edmund upended the dinner table so that all the contents – cutlery, crockery and all – went hurtling toward the floor and ended with a tremendous CRASH. 

'I hate you,' he shouted, his face the colour of beetroot. He turned on his heel and stormed out of the dining room, slamming the door behind him.

Do you notice how a combination of sensory language – the sounds of the table and its contents – as well as the imagery – 'his face the colour of beetroot' – creates an experience that the reader can resonate with, or even relate to? We are constantly trying to connect to the reader - so it's important to always consider how we can show them things, instead of just telling. Or 'skimming over the surface'. You should aim to give away the juicy details, not just the outline of something.

That being said, we can show too much, and that's where telling can play an important role. For example, long descriptions of settings that readers are already familiar with, or lengthy passages describing transitions between scenes and time, are not only tiresome, but rather altogether pointless. So there are pros and cons to telling.

Cause and Effect

Another simple way to think about "show vs tell" is to think about 'cause and effect.' When you tell, you're detailing the effect. But to really engage the reader's senses, we need to place emphasis on the cause. 

It's also important to remember that showing vs telling, as a rule, can be applied differently depending on what you are focusing on. For example, setting often benefits from telling in small doses – clear statements that ground the reader – before moving into more evocative sensory detail. For example, “It was a winter morning” is efficient, but showing through the "brittle crunch of ice underfoot" pulls the reader into the world. 

With character emotions and body language, showing always carries more weight. Rather than stating “She was nervous,” the tremor in her hands, the way her voice cracks, or her sudden fixation on a frayed thread in her sleeve – allows readers to infer her state of mind, fostering intimacy and engagement. The devil, as they say, is in all these little details to make up a much bigger, richer picture for the reader.

If you're interested in honing your showing skills, check out our comprehensive creative writing course, 'Start Your Story' here.

Thanks for reading!