I'm hearing these expressions a lot and it just recently occurred to me that...I'm not entirely positive what they mean... Which is a bad thing because I was told to show more than tell about what my characters do.

So, for those of you who understand this, what is the difference between "showing" and "telling"?

Bethany Faith

First in! Yes!

The way I look at it, Beth, it's the difference between sketching and painting.

Let me see if I can rustle up a couple of examples... *rummages through files of dogeared papers* *emerges triumphant*

This would be the 'telling' ...



And this the 'showing'... (hopefully )



Telling gives us facts, using vague verbs, passive verbs and cliches. Showing weaves the facts between action, dialogue, and sensory detail.

I think showing refers to a lot more then just describing the picture. Showing can be showing a characters emotions, showing tension, showing actions. Let me try an example and see if it works:



Not much colour there. Maybe showing is like technicolour tv, as opposed to black and white films.



I think showing has more adjectives, where as telling is more practical. Not very knowledgeable in that area, but that's what it seems to be for me.

Edit: What Cassandra said!

This is something I used to have trouble with. I understood the concept, but had difficulty always figuring out where my writing needed work in this area. Then I read this blog post, and it all became perfectly clear to me. Her examples are awesome, and I love that she gives specific words to be aware of. (You may find me referring people to her a lot. She's awesome. )

http://wordplay-kmweiland.blogspot.com/ ... -your.html

Adjectives and adverbs, most of the time, tell rather than show. For example, let's say you want to portray a character as gruff. You have two choices:



Or...



The gruffness is shown...implied...by the sentence structure.

Outside of dialogue, you might be tempted to write something like 'She dropped the stick and followed him, feeling sad and unloved.' But that's telling. This is showing: 'She dropped the stick and followed him, keeping her head bowed and nudging loose stones out of the way with her shuffling feet.'

Actions and dialogue can be powerfully used to show emotion. But if you tell us that the action is done 'sadly' or 'cheerfully', or even 'slowly', it cheapens the effect of the action itself. Better is to use interesting verbs that imply what you'd otherwise say with adverbs.

There are many other areas that showing vs. telling is important, but this is the main one as it applies to basic writing.

I agree with Luke. I use that a lot myself

One thing I would like to mention is that your novel will have some telling, obviously. You can't show everything that happens and sometimes telling is necessary for a certain scene. It can even be a good tool, when used correctly.

eru

I'm still learning this in my own writing, so this is a interesting thread. ^^

If you like, I can go into more detail on the other applications of showing vs. telling. That might make a good blog article.

More detailed is always good! I'm enjoying reading everybody's explanations...they are helping immensely.

I'll see what I can come up with.

The one thing that always trips me up is when some writers tell you to give less detail and others suggest more. I think it's up to the author's and reader's preference.

~Calen

"So".

Which you brought up another question, which one is better for dramatic scenes?

Very good responses, guys. I know the difference; I just seem to fall into the "telling" more than I should.

I'm with E. I think using both is effective. The methods work better for different situations.

It isn't really a matter of more or less detail, but rather the right detail for what you want to say. Like Airi said.

Here's a link to my article:

http://lmallen.wordpress.com/2011/05/04 ... d-telling/

Thank you, Luke! That was wonderful! It really cleared up all of my questions! *applauds*

Thank you for such amazing, clearly explained posts! I've wondered about this as well before and now I understand so much better! Nice topic Bethy! I also fall into telling more than showing, but I love the showing one! I agree a mixture would be great.

You're welcome. *bows* It was fun to write.

Telling does not invest the reader in your story. It does not prove what your characters are doing or feeling it just point blank give it to the reader. And it's really, really irritating. (In my opinion.)

Here's a sample.

Jaimy felt horrible. She felt like death itself. Everything was terrible, and she couldn't do anything about it. And she wished she could go back and do everything over again, but she couldn't, so she just sat there crying. Why did life have to be so sad?

This is telling. ^^ And it bothers me, and unfortunately creeps up a lot into my writing.

This next sample is showing.

Jaimy collapsed to the ground, too sick to continue. How am I still alive? she wondered. A feeling of complete helplessness washed over her. She couldn't even fight the tears that began to stream down her cheeks. They mixed with the bloody dirt and made her face even filthier and slimier. If only...if only...

does that make sense?

Neither of those samples were stellar. I made them up just now, but do you get the idea?

*nods* Those were good examples, Willow. Thank you for sharing.

One example I can think of:

Telling:
Then one night, their camp was attacked by robbers.

Showing:
Levi slowly rolled out of the blanket of dreams, but the soft sound continued. He could hear it, just outside the tent. The sleep fog slipped out of his brain, and he recognized the sound: Footstep. Soft foot on sand. A shrieking whistle stabbed the dark; suddenly pounding hoofbeats everywhere shook the earth. Levi sprang to his feet, and a rough hand ripped open the tent flap. A dagger glinted.