10 Way to Show not Tell

One of the strongest and most recurrent pieces of advice for creative writers is that they show as much as possible, and tell only when absolutely necessary. Here are 10 ways you can do that:

1. Don't neglect dialogue

Dialogue can tell a whole story. You don't actually need anything else. Try reading the script for a play sometime, and you'll see what I mean. Also, when well written, dialogue is more fun to read than description or narration.

2. Appeal to the senses

There are five senses, but somehow we key on sight, touch, and hearing. Yet one of the strongest ways to evoke our memories is with smell and taste. One of the best ways you can connect to your audience and suck them into the story is to make a personal connection with them, so evoking their memories is what you should be focusing on.

3. Make your writing descriptive

The key here is to describe only what you need to, or what makes sense to describe. Revelling in every detail will bore the reader. Pick the details that stand out and describe those. I don't need to know exactly what a character is wearing; in fact, I might not need to know at all, but if she is wearing something particularly revealing, that shows character. A decent girl doesn't wear a tanga to the beach.

4. Adjectives are often telling rather than showing

Wherever you find an adjective, you could likely show the same thing for a better result. For example,

The walls were dirty.

The walls were streaked brown with mud and green slime was creeping down from the water-stained ceiling.

5. Use the right nouns

Use nouns that are specific and convey what you want them to.

She bent down to pet a dog.

She bent down to pet a mongrel.

Big difference, right?

6. Adverbs are your new curse words

Have you ever listened to someone who's every second word was a curse word? You likely found the person both offensive and boring. Adverbs should have the same effect on you as a writer. Sometimes we can't avoid them, but that usually points to some deeply held insecurity that we'll never be properly understood if we don't use them. Good writing has already done the descriptive work of an adverb before you feel the need to add it. If "she said it excitedly" then I'd rather have noticed her excitement in what she said. The adverb then becomes redundant and should be removed. For example,

She smiled softly.

A smile began at the corners of her mouth, but died before making it to her lips.

Which evokes a stronger image?

7. A good metaphor is worth a thousand words

Her hat was a peacock and her hair was its nest.

Now you have the picture of an absurd and colorful hat, accompanied by the second metaphor which should evoke an image of a messy pile of hair spilling from the brim.

8. Emotional qualifiers are a poor shortcut to expressing a characters' mood

If someone is angry, how do you know? Does the person have to tell you: "I'm angry?" Very few people are that direct. There are lots of other cues for anger, and we pick up on them quickly in real life, so why should the  writer have to tell his or her audience that someone is mad? It should be obvious from the way the character is acting. So don't tell emotions. Show them! For example,

9. Be specific

Vague writing can be fast and easy, but it's not going to connect well to your audience. Be specific, don't skip the details. The details are what make a good story, but don't bore your reader with too many useless details either. The details should be just enough to describe the important "telling" things. For example,

10. Showing everything is boring, so just tell us about the boring things

If you show everything to your reader, he or she will quickly become bored. Show the important things. Telling is a great way to summarize everything else. Good writing is balanced with both showing and telling. The key is to know how much of each and where to use them.

If you want some good examples of writers who, in my opinion, have mastered the balance between showing and telling, take a look at the following writers. If you're a sensitive soul, keep in mind the ratings I've given each of them to avoid reading anything too explicit for your taste: Michael Crichton (Thriller, PG-13), Steven King (Horror, R), Dean R. Koontz (Horror, R) Nora Roberts (Romance, R), Wilbur Smith (Adventure, R), Daniel Steel (Romance, PG-13), Francine Rivers (Romance/Christian, PG)