I think the 'show don't tell' rule gets way too much credit in writing prompts

Last month at a writers meetup in Austin, this guy spent 20 minutes lecturing everyone about how showing is always better than telling. I told him straight up that sometimes you just need to say 'he was angry' instead of describing his clenched fists for three paragraphs. In real life, people actually say things like 'I'm furious' and it works fine. Has anyone else found that sticking too close to this rule actually makes their prompt responses feel forced and unnatural?

2 comments

2 Comments

charliew9914d ago

That Austin guy would probably have a heart attack reading some of the best noir novels from the 40s where they flat out say "he was a mean drunk." There's a good reason why the "tell don't show" camp exists in dialogue and action scenes - sometimes you need to move the plot along without turning every emotion into a five minute weather report. The real trick is knowing when to drop a quick tell like "she was terrified" versus stretching out a scene where her hands shake while she tries to unlock the car door. Each approach has its place, and pretending one is always better just makes for boring, bloated writing.

ivan4013d ago

The 40s noir writers knew pacing better than anyone. @charliew99 nailed it with that mean drunk example. When you've got three pages to set up a hitman walking into a bar, you don't need to show his whole backstory through shaky hands and sweat. Just tell me he's nervous and move on. I've had editing clients who described every single character's breakfast for half a chapter. It drags everything down. Simple tells keep the story breathing.