Please.... how EXACTLY can I SHOW and not tell?

Question

I don't fully understand.... Can somone please explain and give examples of showing and telling. I don't quite get the difference.... I am only trying to make sure I am writting properly.

Thank you sooooooooo much!

Answer 1

Here is a great essay on the subject.. http://www.sfwriter.com/ow04.htm
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They're, Their, There - Three Different Words.

Careful or you may wind up in my next novel.

Pax - C

Answer 2

It's sort of like when a director of a movie has that black and white clapboard showing which "take" he is about to do, and he signals, and the guy or girl snaps that clapboard shut--

Then the only thing that happens after that is either action or dialogue or both... active, active, active.

If you write in a passive voice, simply narrating what could have been action, then you are like the screenwriter-- Not acting it out but just writing it down, being a narrator.

By "not telling" --you do not simply narrate an action or conversation... You get in there and act it, or say it. You write down the actions your people do or did, and you write out what they said.
You work on that word a director of a movie would say with the snap of the clapboard: "Action!"

I think that's the best example I can give now, and I really hope it helps you, because so many writers tell and don't show. You can stand out now. If I didn't make it clear, I hope someone does.
Luck--

Answer 3

a good way to get in the feel for showing and not telling is to write a scene from your character's prepective, 1st person, using all five senses, but let sight play an unimportant role.... concentrate on odder things, like the taste of ashes or the smell of the trees.

When you're telling, you point out in black and white: Mary was angry. Mary was sad.

When you're showing, you do the exact same thing. except now you don't use plain english, you DESCRIBE the situation adn let the readers deduce it for themselves: Mary's fists clenched tight as she screamed at her brother, feeling the muscles strain in her face. Obviously there you can tell that Mary is very angry. You just don't say it outright like you're in second grade. Tears burned the backsides of her eyelids as she knelt in the rain, the roll of thunder an ululation of her sorrow..... again. Do we ever say, "Mary is sad"? No. But it's still apparent.

If you're a book learner, Hellcat's link is a good one.

Answer 4

oh i did this in high school once...well basically tell the details like how it looked, what was the mood, how it smelled, how the characters were feeling, and such...dont just state the event but spend your time saying little details about it

for example:
Tell: The room was really messy.
Show: As i walked through the door i noticed it was hard to push the door, for a pile of junk was preventing the door to open fully. After finally managing in, I noticed i didnt recognize the room. it was a complete disarray of disaster. there was pizza left overs from the week before still resting on the desk. From the floor a stench creeped itself up in the air, as soon as i recognized that it was my brothers dirty baseball socks i covered my mouth and gagged a bit in my mouth. Trying to remember what i had previously come for, I lastly noticed the colorful disaster on the bed. All sizes of flyers were on the bed along with some dirty clothes. Finally, I was able to set my view to my brothers to remind him that it was his turn to mow the lawn. He grumbled something and I immediately turned to leave when my face caught in a stream of cobwebs. I desperately yanked it from my face and ran out managing to stumble a bit.

lol sorry i had fun writing that i hope it helps though!
good luck!

Answer 5

As a great French TV and movie ad (for perfume or something) said, showing a rose opening in speed-motion: "It's the essence of a woman: Revealing all, while surrendering nothing."

The French. Say what you like about them -- as far as seduction goes, they're the pros. And whether you're talking about romance or Art, or just writing a mystery -- seduction is the key.