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Showing vs TellingBY: J van Hemert | Category: Writing | Post Date: 2010-02-16
If you're a fiction writer, you've heard this phrase before. One of the most important, least understood, and most misunderstood pieces of advice when it comes to fiction. Now the question comes, what is the difference? I'll explain. Telling is the act of relating the consequences of actions. Such as: 'The mayor was pleased with himself as he walked past John, who was just sitting there, scared.' You can easily figure out what is happening, but you don't feel part of the scene. You feel as if someone is relaying the events afterwards. Now we come to showing. Showing is the act of relating actions. Thus the reader can make his own assumptions. Taking the same sentence, I'll show the difference between the two. 'The mayor strutted past John with a smug smile on his face, while John was just sitting there, trembling and holding himself, risking a glance with wide eyes.' With this sentence, you tell the reader only what is happening. The mayor struts past John, thus he thinks highly of himself, he has a smug smile on his face, thus he is pleased with himself. John, trembles, and is holding himself, thus he is scared. He also looks at the mayor with wide eyes, but risks a glance. This tells us that he's scared of the mayor. When you read this, you feel as if you're a spectator that is watching this event. You can 'see' what is happening, and draw your own conclusions, thus you feel more 'in' the story. Now let's compare the showing and telling of a character directly involved. 'John looked up, seeing the mayor. Fear coursed through his veins as the pleased looking man walked past.' Can you guess what that was? Yes, telling. If we show it, it would go something like this: 'John looked up, seeing the mayor. He felt his heart start racing and he wiped his sweaty palms on his shirt. The mayor strutted past him, his smug smile causing John's breaths to become shallow.' This was showing. The difference is obvious. Now that we've established the differences, let's discuss its uses. Showing is in general more de script ive and takes up more space. Thus you can increase your word count as well. On the other hand, this could be a bad thing, as you could go over your word count limit. Also, always showing and never telling is a common error among some people that got told to 'Show not Tell'. In every story there has to be telling of some sort. If everything was shown, there might be some things that are never understood. Also, by showing, the scene itself will become more interesting and important. But if you were to only show, how would any part be able to stand out? By telling, it is easier to get important information across, thus informing the reader better than showing can. This is particularly useful in situations where the 'what' is more important than the 'why' and where the intensity of the scene is not as important. For example, describing the room someone is in, but only for a general atmosphere. Here is an actual example of where telling is better used than showing. I'll use the same situation as before. 'John looked up, seeing the mayor strutting past some children playing on the dusty road. He felt his heart start racing and he wiped his sweaty palms on his shirt. The mayor passed him, his smug smile causing John's breaths to become shallow.' Now, compare it to this version with showing all round. 'John looked up, seeing the mayor strutting past four children chasing each other and laughing on the dusty road. He felt his heart start racing and he wiped his sweaty palms on his shirt. The mayor passed him, his smug smile causing John's breaths to become shallow.' If you show the children playing, you pull the attention to them instead of to the mayor where it belongs. But, if the children were an important part, by all means, show. Showing is used to emphasise and point out important part, making it seem more real, while telling is more for details that are unimportant for the plot, but important for the setting. If you use both wisely, it makes the story easier to read and you can write without losing the suspension of disbelief or losing the focus. Show what is important, especially for the viewpoint character (if that is applicable), and tell what needs to be known, but not seen. Article Source: http://www.writearticles.org About Author / Additional Info: Additional Articles: * Funding your College Education Without Going Broke * Foods Like Kefir Keep You Healthy * Celebrity Gossip: What We Get From It * Vitamins are the most important nutrition required for an ideal height * Homeschooling: When the Best Schooling for Your Family happens at Home Does this article violate or infringe on your copyright ? 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