Arlene Writing Contest

AWC Tidbit-Show & Tell (or Show, don't Tell?)

Hello my AWC friends! Welcome to the second AWC Tidbit! Today is... show and tell!.... Wait... you mean to say that it's not show and tell? OH! It's show don't tell. Well, darn! I had a great routine prepared for you all. I suppose the juggling will have to wait for another time... For now, let's talk about what it means to show don't tell.

Many writers are familiar with this phrase; it's blasted in our faces constantly. What exactly does it mean, though? Perhaps you know, or perhaps you don't! Maybe you once knew, but need a refreshing reminder, or you could be thinking, "Dude, I don't need to know this; I've got it down!" Well, kudos to you if you are comfortable with this guideline! You should be proud to be familiar with this, as it is something most of us struggle with. For those of you who do struggle with it, I'm going to give you some (hopefully) inspiring examples and ideas as to how this works.

Here is what it means to tell:

Gene is much taller than me and very skinny, and his hair is long and grey.

Here is what it means to show:

Gene's lanky figure towered above me, his peppery hair falling in wisps about his shoulders underneath the backwards cap on his head.

Does this make sense? Not once did I tell you he's tall, skinny, or has grey hair, but the description paints a picture in your mind of what he looks like and implies these things. Showing is much more fun to do than telling! We default to telling simply because that's how we'd talk in reality, but readers don't want to be told a story; readers want to experience a story! Now, occasionally it is safe to tell; but you must use the greatest of discretion!

Thus concludes this short--but important--Tidbit! I hope it helps and inspires! 

What do you think about showing Vs. Telling? Is it something you struggle with? Have anything to add? Join in on the discussion in the comments below! I love to hear what you have to say. 

Comment what Tidbit you'd like to see next! Be it grammatical, punctuation, story/character development, I'll write it! Thanks for being apart, and I hope you're all thinking about joining the contest (or perhaps you're already apart and are thinking about your prompt!).

Du-du-na! As always, Happy writing!