The Art of Showing and Telling in Fiction
Examples, Tips, and Techniques for Blending Showing and Telling Effectively
You’ve heard it a million times: “Show, don't tell.”
What you don’t always hear is that good storytelling involves a balance of showing and telling.
When a story with great potential falls flat, it's often because it tells more than it shows.
Today, I want to explain 'show, don't tell' in simple terms and share my thoughts on finding the right balance.
What Exactly Is Show, Don’t Tell?
Show, don’t tell is a technique that encourages you to illustrate scenes, emotions, and actions rather than simply stating them. Creating vivid imagery and sensory details allows readers to experience the story as it unfolds rather than relying on a summary.
For example:
Telling — Sarah was terrified.
Showing — Her heart racing, Sarah’s breath came quick and shallow. Her hands trembled, the silver bullets clinking together in her hand as she tried to load the pistol.
Telling — John was exhausted from running around in his werewolf costume.
Showing — John’s legs wobbled as he slowed his pace. He took a deep breath and rolled his tense shoulders, realizing the werewolf costume was heavier than he thought it would be.
Why Is Showing So Important?
A story filled with too much telling can distance readers from the thrills you so desperately want them to experience.
Here are a few things showing can improve:
Engagement — Showing creates a more immersive experience, drawing readers into the story. This helps them visualize the scenes and feel the emotions more vividly.
Character development — By showing actions and reactions, readers can better understand your characters' personalities, motivations, and relationships without being explicitly told.
Emotion and atmosphere — Showing conveys emotions and atmosphere more effectively, making the narrative more compelling. It’s more likely to resonate with readers, too.
Pacing — Showing keeps the story dynamic and helps avoid info-dumps that can slow down the narrative.
Comic Writers Get it Wrong, Too!
Comic writers are just as susceptible to falling into the telling trap when they forget that art can show complex emotions and actions far more vividly than using dialog to carry the burden.
Visual representation — Instead of a character saying he’s scared, the art might show his eyes wide or beads of sweat on his forehead.
Action over dialogue — Use actions to depict emotions. For instance, a character might smash a bottle against the wall and scream. That’s more engaging than him saying, "I'm furious."
Body language — Readers can learn a lot from how characters stand, their facial expressions, and their gestures. For example, slumped shoulders and a downcast gaze can indicate sadness.
Environmental cues — The setting and details within a panel can also tell a story. For example, a dark, cluttered room with Halloween decorations might be more revealing than explanatory text.
This is a good time to remind comic writers you don’t need to show and tell in the same panel.
Is Telling Ever Better than Showing?
You can’t possibly show everything, and you probably don’t want to. Sometimes, a succinct piece of telling can help move the story along or provide necessary context.
Here are some moments when you might want to provide a quick summary instead of painting the full picture:
Pacing and transitions — When you need to move the story along quickly without getting bogged down in details, such as explaining shifts in time, setting, or events. Example: "Three weeks passed without any word from John, the guy who rented the werewolf costume."
Backstory — Summarizing backstory or exposition helps provide necessary context without interrupting the flow of the main narrative. Example: "Sarah had grown up on a farm where she learned to protect the livestock from predators."
Minor details — For less important details or actions that do not significantly impact the story, telling can keep the focus on more critical elements. Example: "Tom got dressed and left the house."
Internal thoughts — Sometimes, a character's thoughts and feelings are better conveyed through straightforward telling rather than extensive showing. Example: "Seeing all the police cars, Tom felt a sudden wave of guilt for letting Sarah borrow his collection of silver bullets."
How Do You Know Which to Use?
I’d love to tell you there’s a science to balancing show and tell, that you need to show exactly 83% of the time. But that’s not how it works.
You’re either showing enough, or you’re not.
The more you write, the more you’ll know when you’re out of balance.
The next time you’re revising a scene, analyze your words. Ask yourself if it would be more engaging if you showed a little more. If not, maybe the information is minor enough that telling works just fine.
What about you? Do you struggle with balancing the two? Do have techniques you use to ensure you’re striking the right balance?