Can anyone explain the ’show not tell’ rule for creative writing?
Was looking at an online creative writing page, it had an exercise to write a piece of dialog between two characters, and said to ‘employ the show not tell rule’. It didn’t explain what this was, any ideas?
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The show not tell rule means that you need to use description and dialogue when telling a story. Don’t just state the facts. Instead of saying, “The tree is tall.” Say something like “The tree, with it’s branches reaching up into the sky as if trying to touch the clouds. . .”
Okay, so the first thing you have to remember is the difference between telling and showing. Telling is abstract and passive…it involves the reader less. It slows you down and takes away from the action of your story. Showing is active and concrete. It creates mental images that brings your story to life. Your writing is vivid, strong, and interactive. Like…here’s an example I took from a website.
Telling:
You are such a jerk,” he said angrily.
First off, you should never modify “said” with an adverb. Second, keep adverb use to a minimum. They’re not evil little words that have to be avoided at all costs, but they should be kept to a minimum. It’s far better to SHOW he was angry:
Showing:
“You are such a jerk.” Dan slammed the phone book shut and threw it at the couch. The pages ruffled open, the names inside seeming exposed and vulnerable against the stark black leather. Dan got to his feet, moving so fast his chair skidded against the floor and dented the new drywall.
Oh, and avoid the “To be” verbs…like am, is, are, was, was being, will have been, could have been and so on…those usually put you in passive tense!
Hope that helped!
When you “show” you use the character to state the fact(s). When you “tell” you use the narrator to state the fact(s).
TELL: The room is hot.
SHOW: “Open the window,” said Mike. “This fan isn’t doing anything for me.”
SHOW: Mike unbuttoned the top button of his shirt and loosened his tie with one hand and turned on the fan with the other. Joe dabbed his brow with his tie as he opened the window to let the fresh air in.
The narrator can state that the room is hot or the character can do or say something that indicates that the room is hot. In both “show” examples you will notice that neither the narrator or the characters explicitly stated that the room was hot. Their actions indicated the temperature level.
Here’s another example which is similar to the first two posters examples:
I highly recommend On Writing by Stephen King. He explains all of this kind of stuff. It’s only 7.99 and well worth the cost.
EDIT: Lauren is correct. Using adverbs and the passive voice weakens the writing.
EDIT: I should correct myself a little bit. In the first sentence I said: When you “show” you use the character to state the fact(s). This is true, but it is also true for the narrator to show as well. Click the second link to read an example.
TM got it pretty well. I’d just like to recommend an essential (in my opinion) book for all writers. It’s called Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne and King, and it covers this topic in chapter 1. In fact, it’s unbelievably well demonstrated by a paragraph from The Great Gatsby on pages 5-7. (Any questions or uncertainty you have about show vs tell will be eradicated by this book. There are also great chapters on characterization, beats, proportion, and voice.)
I’d type it up for you, but, despite evidence to the contrary, I do have a life! LOL
I know EXACTLY what they are talking about.
“Show not tell” works for all areas in writing, not just in dialogue. The whole idea behind it is being DESCRIPTIVE. You want to SPECIFICALLY DESCRIBE what the reader sees instead of telling him what he sees.
In the case of dialogue, you want to SHOW CHARACTERISTICS of the characters as well as their dialogue. Here are some examples. In the first example, we will TELL. In the second example, we will SHOW:
1. Jenny talked to Bob on the phone that night. “Hey, Bob. I really cannot wait to see you. Have you thought about what will do after dinner tomorrow night? I have some ideas.”
2. Jenny cradled the phone delicately in her long, neatly manicured fingers. “Hey, Bob. I really cannot wait to see you.” As he responded on the other line, a wicked smile blossomed across her youthful features. “Have you thought about what we will do after tomorrow night?” With her other hand, she began twirling her hair, listening intently to what her boyfriend on the other end was saying. She stopped briefly to answer his question from the other end. “I have some ideas,” she said, flickering her tongue briefly against her upper lip.
In the first example, we TOLD the reader what was happening. In the second example, we SHOWED them. In showing them, we were able to effectively describe the female character to them. We described her as a bit immature and flirty. And in the very end, we even included a bit of sexuality to her. Yes, the female character may possibly be a HO, but we never would have KNOWN it from the first example.
I hope this helps. I just set up a Yahoo group on Creative Writing if you are interested in joining:
I hope you found this helpful.