It is not a rigid rule and it is not a diktat. So what is it show, don’t tell? I would define it as a method of giving space to actions, to gestures and perceptions, so that the narrated world opens up before the eyes of the reader.
A story, Indeed, engages readers when it allows them to live what is happening between the pages, in a totalizing and immersive way. You know when you get so caught up in a book that you forget everything else? Ecco. It is the underlying principle of show, don’t tell, one of the most useful narrative techniques for building identification and empathy: what is fundamental to the plot or to the characterization of the characters goes shown, like it happens in a movie, avoiding advance explanations or summaries.
Practical techniques for applying it show, don’t tell
1. Activate the five senses.
Bring out the scene through sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste to transform abstract information into a concrete experience, experienced by the bearer of the point of view and consequently by the reader. In this way, the writing gains intensity.
2. Give voice to the characters.
Dialogues and thoughts help to avoid “explain” omniscient and restore spontaneity to the narrative. As well as proxemics, the silences, the words mentioned but then held back. What the characters say (and what they choose to keep quiet about) it tells much more than any external comment.
3. Choose exact words.
Vague adjectives like “tall”, “basso”, “bello”, "bad", "particular", “strange” add nothing to the scene. The ability to use the right term for each situation can transform a dull page into one worth reading.
4. Avoid the effect “identity card”.
In the writing of debutants, it is common for a character's first entrance to be accompanied by a complete sheet of eyes, hair, height, build, somatic features and so on. The result is a block of information that slows down the narrative. It is more effective to let salient details emerge as the story progresses, filtered by the gaze of the characters. The same principle applies to character: showing it in action is always more impactful than listing all the behavioral characteristics at the beginning.
5. Don't anticipate emotions.
Saying a character is embarrassed or confused detracts from the scene. Better to leave it to the attitudes, the hesitations, the involuntary gestures that tell of that state of mind.
An effective method, Yes, but not an exact science
Lo show, don’t tell it is particularly suited to contemporary fiction: makes reading more fluid, avoid "explanations" and let the actions speak.
The most rigorous approaches – such as transparent writing of Rotte Narrative – aim for an almost total application of the technique. Other methods, like those taught in the editing master's degree Knowing how to write, suggest a more targeted use: they favor it show in the fundamental parts to the development of the plot and do not fear the “told” in the connection steps.
The truth, At that time, Which? Nobody can tell you: It will be up to you to choose the method that best suits your style and narrative goals. Io, personally, I'm a fan of both Narrative Routes and Knowing How to Write, and I advise my authors to move towards one approach rather than the other based on the characteristics of the novel they are writing.
The genres in which it is most difficult (but also more rewarding) apply it
Science fiction and fantasy pose the most arduous challenges of all. Here the narrative world is new to the reader: reveal it without infodump it is a tightrope walk worthy of the best tightrope walker. Showing rather than explaining requires care, but when it works it gives exceptional results, because worldbuilding becomes an integral part of the story.
A question of target and narrative culture
The use of show, don’t tell, Furthermore, varies based on audience and cultural context. Many Chinese fantasies – brought to Italy in recent years by the excellent translations of Oscar Vault – they present a structure different from the typically Western one, as they alternate highly narrated parts with visual moments, without ever losing intensity.
This is the case of danmei beloved as:
- The blessing of the divine officer
- The grand master of the demonic school
- The husky and his white cat Shizun
These works show how other narrative systems, other ways of organizing the story and other stylistic approaches (you know, for example, the different use of metaphors) can live with a freer use of tell. In general, there is no single way of storytelling, and perception changes from one tradition to another. In the readings considered “exotic”, for example, we are willing to “forgive” stylistic features that we could never tolerate in a Western novel.
Want to delve deeper into this narrative technique or apply it to your manuscript?
If you would like a professional assessment or coaching process to help you use it show, don’t tell effectively, you can write to me: I will be happy to work with you on your narrative project.
