Balancing Showing vs Telling

Many (many!) new writers are confused about balancing showing vs telling. As a writer, you strive to create immersive and engaging stories that captivate readers from beginning to end. One essential skill to master is finding the right balance between showing and telling. In this blog post, we will explore what showing and telling mean in the context of fiction writing and provide practical tips to strike a harmonious balance between the two.

Understanding the Difference Between Showing and Telling

To create a compelling narrative, it’s important to understand the distinction between showing and telling. “Showing” calls on observable details – the senses, actions, and dialogue. It allows readers to experience the story alongside the characters, firsthand. It lets readers see what the characters are seeing, feel what they are feeling, smell what they are smelling. It invites readers to visualize scenes, feel emotions, and draw their own conclusions.

On the other hand, “telling” is conveying information directly to readers without allowing them to engage their senses or draw their own inferences.

The Power of Showing in Creating Vivid Imagery

Showing plays a crucial role in immersing readers in the world you’ve created. By using vivid descriptions, sensory details, and evocative language, you can paint a vivid picture in readers’ minds.

For example, instead of telling readers that the room was tidy, you can show them by describing how books are alphabetised on the shelves, how shoes are lined up on the shoe rack, how the kitchen surfaces are clean and clear.

This allows readers to visualize the scene and connect with the characters in their environment. When a reader has to work things out for themselves – by observing the behaviour of a character, rather than being told about it – they will be invested in your story. This is how to write a page-turner!

Using Dialogue and Action to Show Emotions

Dialogue and character actions are effective tools for showing emotions and inner thoughts. Rather than explicitly stating a character’s feelings, let their words and actions reveal their emotional state.

For some emotions, it’s easy to imagine how a character will look – for instance, instead of telling readers that a character is sad, have a tear roll down their cheek – but others are a little more tricky. Instead of saying a character is nonchalant, maybe they could gaze around a room as they are speaking, or be looking out of a window.

This allows readers to experience the emotion alongside the character, narrowing the narrative distance and fostering a deeper connection.

Image of a book - The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi

For ideas on how to show emotion, you might like to have a look at The Emotion Thesaurus by Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman – it gives you suggestions on how a character might act if they feel a particular emotion, including internal feelings and external observable characteristics.

Telling is Excellent for Summarising

While showing is a powerful tool for bringing your reader in so they are really close to your characters, there are instances where telling can be more useful. Telling helps provide context, summarize information, and maintain a good pace in your narrative. It allows you to condense time or convey necessary background information efficiently. You don’t want to tell too much though as an info dump will disconnect your readers.

Telling should be used at times when you want to increase the narrative distance – for overviews, flashbacks and backstories.

However, be cautious not to rely too heavily on telling, as it can distance readers from the story. Reserve telling for moments where it serves a purpose and complements the showing elements. And always watch out for info dumps!