How do you show vs.tell? Are you telling when you think you’re showing? Or showing the wrong things? When and how do you write one or the other?
Show, don’t tell is one of the trickiest things to understand, let alone master.
So in this episode, I’ll show you the difference between showing and telling, and how to blend both.
You need both showing and telling. It’s just a matter of when and how. You’ll learn to tell so skillfully, it’ll all read like showing.
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Episode at a glance:
[02:46] Show vs. Tell
Often stories suffer from the wrong things being shown, and the wrong things being told. Telling summarizes. Showing demonstrates. There’s good showing and bad showing. Good telling and bad telling. You don’t do one or the other arbitrarily.
[03:25] Good Telling vs. Bad Telling
When telling works, it not only compresses time, it gives us the wider context for what’s shown. Bad telling is just flat, static information. Bad telling doesn’t doesn’t engage the reader’s imagination. Good telling gives context for what’s shown, and doesn’t call attention to itself.
[06:03] 3 Common Ways Writers Tell Badly
There are 3 main ways telling goes wrong: excessive backstory, plot told as summary, and expository dialogue. Learn how to avoid these mistakes and create telling that reads more like showing.
[08:12] Blending Showing And Telling
I’ll give you examples of bad telling and good telling, and how the telling leads to or follows what’s shown.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Episode 199: 5 Quick and Easy Edits For A Stronger, More Riveting Story
Lost in the City: Stories by Edward P. Jones
The News of The World: Stories by Ron Carlson
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