Writing a Narrative by Showing and Telling

There are two ways of writing a narrative. One is by showing and the other is by telling. It is how you combine these two methods of narrative writing that will ultimately determine your novel's success.

If you have spent any time studying the art and craft of novel writing, you will doubtless have come across this golden rule: Show, Don't Tell.

What does it mean?

Is it a good rule?

How, precisely, do you show and tell?

Before getting down to business, let me first say that mastering the art of showing and telling when writing a narrative is critical to your success. (So don't skip this material!)

Understanding how to write a narrative through showing and telling - and knowing when to do each one - is the very essence of structuring a publishable narrative.

Writing a Narrative by Showing

"Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass."
- Anton Chekov

Showing means writing fiction in such a way that the readers feel as though they are there - seeing the sights and hearing the sounds and experiencing the events for themselves...

If the wind blows, they feel it on their skin.
If the character is embarrassed, the readers blush with them.
If a shot is fired, they flinch.

In short, writing a narrative by showing is all about involving the readers...

If a writer tells the readers that a character is repellent, they only have the writer's word for it.
If the writer shows them the character's pockmarked face and the smell of stale vomit on their breath, the readers are truly repelled (just like you are now).

Take a look at this sentence (it is pure telling)...

Pencarrick was a quaint Cornish fishing village where the pace of life was very slow.

Here is how I actually wrote it (or showed it) in my novel...

Beth loved Pencarrick. She loved the twisting streets and the impossibly narrow lanes and back alleys, where two cars moving in the opposite direction was all it took for grid lock. She loved how the white-washed fishermen's cottages didn't share a straight line between them, and how they huddled together on the hillside against the worst of the Atlantic storms. She loved the salt in the air and that strange blueness in the light and falling asleep to the sound of breaking waves. Most of all, Beth loved how everything in Pencarrick took just as long as it took, as if the passing of time was measured not in hours and minutes but by the lazy turnings of the tide.

Writing a Narrative by Telling

Telling is the exact opposite of showing. If showing is characterized by evocative details and sensory impressions, telling remains stubbornly lifeless.

The readers will find it impossible to experience the people and places and events in any meaningful way because you are giving them virtually nothing to respond to.

You tell them that a character is handsome but don't say how they are handsome.
You tell them that a sunset is breathtaking but don't say in what way it takes the breath away.
You tell them that a character is miserable but fail to demonstrate their misery.

However, the one thing that telling has in its favor is that it is concise and to the point. Writing a narrative by telling allows the writer to say in a very small space what it would take many paragraphs (or pages) to say using showing.

Brevity is telling's saving grace, and without it us novel writers would be in trouble.

While it is true that Show, Don't Tell is a good rule of thumb to follow, it is only true for part of the time. Sometimes, Tell, Don't Show is a much more useful maxim to follow.

Where to Show and Tell

Before talking about when to show and tell, I should first make it clear that showing and telling applies to ALL aspects of writing a narrative...

It applies to introducing characters...

TELLING...

Jack Stratton was a shy man, particularly around women.

SHOWING...

Jack Stratton stood outside the delicatessen's in the rain, searching for the courage to open the door and step inside. Rita was behind the counter as usual, slicing ham with her back to him...

It applies to describing your novel's setting...

TELLING...

It was a hot day.

SHOWING...

The tarmac was already turning sticky in the morning heat...

It applies to presenting action...

TELLING...

Helen crashed her car on the way to work.

SHOWING...

Helen didn't see the truck until it was too late. She didn't even hear the horn until she sat slumped at the wheel tasting her own blood and...

And it even applies to writing dialogue...

TELLING...