Show, Don’t Tell

I’ve read many books on writing, most of which have some good and some not-so-helpful advice. A few tips, however, seem to come up over and over.

One of the most common and misunderstood is “show, don’t tell,” which means describing what is going on is better than just stating the events as they happen.

On the surface, this is excellent advice. And it does work. But, as with many things, it can be taken too far. If all you're doing is showing your characters' movements and physical actions as they progress through the story, you’re missing out on one of the best ways to build emotion, connection, and understanding with your reader. You also need to describe what is going on internally—showing—or telling, in many cases—your reader what your characters are thinking and feeling.

I’ve recently been reminded of this while listening to Savannah Gilbo’s fantastic writing podcast, where she covers this very thing. Her podcast is excellent, and this particular episode encapsulates the good advice around “show, don’t tell” very well.