“Show, don’t tell” is probably the best-known pieces of advice that aspiring writers hear from writing teachers, editors, and even beta readers. It’s also one of the least-explained bits of writing advice out there.

How do I know? Because, like clockwork, the following sort of question comes up again and again in online groups for writers:

“I know everybody says ‘show, don’t tell,’ but could somebody please explain what it actually means? Like, with examples?”

Fair enough. Editors frequently toss this phrase around without much explanation. My younger editor self has been guilty of this too. I’ve since realized how just saying “show, don’t tell” and nothing else not only isn’t helpful, it can actually be misleading.

So, if you’re one of those people out there looking to better understand this advice, read on.

Here’s what you’ll get in this post:

What “show, don’t tell” means and how to recognize the difference between showing and telling
Why you want to use both in your writing
Tips on knowing when to use show and when to use tell
An exercise at the end

Show vs. Tell: What’s the difference?

Let’s tackle first the easier half of the “show, don’t tell” equation—tell.

What is telling?

Telling means you directly inform your reader about something. You don’t hint at what you want them to know, you tell them. For example:

If you write a sentence and it feels like you’re talking right to the reader, then it’s probably telling.

Example: Darrin had problems with authority.

Here, it’s like you’re standing next to the reader and whispering to them what they need to know about Darrin.

If you’re explaining to your reader how to perceive something in your story, then it’s probably telling.

Example: Darrin walked into a party that was out of control.

Here, the author tells the reader how to view the party. While one reader might see the party as normal or harmless, another reader might see it as something in need of a police raid. But in this sentence, all readers are told how to perceive the party, no matter their perspective.

What is showing?

Showing means you let the reader know something without saying it outright. How? By leaving showing clues for the reader to figure out the information themselves.

How to leave showing clues

By the words you choose to describe characters’ body language or facial expressions or behaviors. The right word choices hint at what you want the reader to realize is going on in a scene. For example, describing someone as sitting slouched in a chair with their legs spread out wide conveys something different about the character than describing them as sitting up ramrod straight with their legs crossed.
By the words you choose for characters’ dialogue or internal narrative. For example, having a character describe poor service they received at a restaurant as “unfortunate” tells the reader something about their personality. Having the character describe the experience as “a disaster” says something different. Without the author ever saying it, the latter word choice tells you that the “disaster” character is either high-strung, a bit of a drama queen or both. The character who describes the experience as “unfortunate” is probably one who typically tries to keep their emotions in check.
By the details you include in their descriptions of settings. If an author describes a nursing home by mentioning its grime-streaked windows and that dinner plates full of unfinished food are still on the dining room table at midnight, what conclusions would you make about this nursing home? Probably that it’s not a good place to be a patient.
If no one’s clearing the dishes, perhaps no one’s doing much to look after the patients either, right? In this example of showing, the author lets the descriptions do the talking instead of telling us that it’s a terrible nursing home.

With good clues, you can lead the reader to the conclusions you want them to draw with a scene they’ll find more memorable because they had to think about what they were reading.

What showing clues look like in your writing

Remember the earlier example in the telling section, about Darrin—who had problems with authority? This passage gives some clear showing clues that suggest Darrin’s authority issues:

When the principal walked into the classroom, all talking stopped, even the teacher’s. But Darrin just flashed his usual contemptuous gaze toward Principal Randall, folded his arms over his chest, and then kept right on talking at his classmates.
“What?” he snarled, after the biology teacher had loudly cleared her throat. “I’m talking here.”

In this example, I used two of the three types of showing clues I outlined above: body language descriptions and word choices in the dialogue. The reader should put these clues together to conclude that Darrin has problems with authority.

Did you spot them all? See them below:

Body language clues

flashed his usual contemptuous gaze: Darrin’s contemptuous gaze is directed at the ultimate authority figure in the room—the principal. The word choice flashed — sounds more aggressive than “looked” would, which hints that Darrin’s attitude toward Principal Randall is aggressive. Flashed also confirms for us that Darrin definitely saw Principal Randall, which means he just didn’t bother to pay attention to him.
folded his arms over his chest: This gesture often conveys that someone is closing themselves off to someone or something. So Darrin appears to be refusing to acknowledge the authority of Principal Randall.

Dialogue clues

“What?” Darrin snarled: I chose the aggressive-sounding snarled for my dialogue tag instead of the more plain said. This choice is another hint that Darrin is disrespecting both Principal Randall and his teacher, the two authority figures in the scene.

“I’m talking here”: This is something you’d say to someone if you saw them as equal to or below you. It’s another clue I left the reader that Darrin treats authority figures with disdain.

With these clues, you don’t have to say Darrin has problems with authority. A reader should be able to put these clues together to notice Darrin’s authority issues.

Show and Tell: Skillful writing uses both

The advice of “show, don’t tell” can be misleading. It makes writers think that they should avoid telling at all costs. But that’s not true.

Showing and telling are both valuable items in your writer’s toolbox. The key is knowing when to use each one.

When telling is a good idea

Good editors know that telling has its place in every story. What they’re against is unnecessary telling. Why?

It keeps the reader at arm’s length from the characters and events, something to avoid when possible
It makes the reader less likely to emotionally invest
Done all the time, it makes prose boring

Overall, fiction should use more showing than telling. But there are times when telling is exactly the right choice.

Telling is great for:

Conveying information that’s necessary for reader comprehension but that has little dramatic content. Let’s say that your reader needs to know that the protagonist is from Chicago because it’ll come up later in the story. Using showing would make your reader slog through a bunch of text to learn a factual detail that has little to no emotional importance. Using telling is a better choice here because you can convey that info with one sentence.
Moving through a period of time that the reader doesn’t need to experience. For example, in your romance, your protagonist meets their love interest in a bar after having no luck the four previous times going there. Does the reader need to see all five club scenes? Maybe—if incidents important things happened on those four previous instances. But if they have nothing interesting to tell the reader—other than that they were unsuccessful nights—why waste the reader’s time? Just write one or two sentences that tell the reader about those previous times.

The author’s job is to keep readers interested, so use telling to quickly get through stuff that has no dramatic relevance. Your readers will thank you.

When showing is a good idea

Use showing to convey the details readers care about—the human stuff.

Showing is a writing technique that makes readers work harder, but they’ll enjoy every moment doing it because you give them a puzzle to work out that engages them. And because they did the work to understand what you’re hinting at, they’ll automatically be more invested in your story.

Showing is great for:

character descriptions
character behavior, emotions, reactions, and motivations
descriptions of important places and situations
dialogue between major characters
conveying character interpersonal dynamics, especially when characters are in conflict

You try it: an exercise in showing

Let’s test your understanding of showing, the harder of the two storytelling techniques to recognize and use. Try the exercise below.

Instructions: See how many word choices you can find in the passage below that show (but don’t say) that my protagonist Annie is terrified of dogs. Then check how you did in the answer key at the end.

Annie caught sight of the German Shepherd puppy on the porch as she stepped out of her car. She immediately cringed.
The dog’s head turned toward her—at the sound of Annie’s car door slamming, probably. The dog wasn’t moving toward her, but it also didn’t seem to be tied to anything. Shit. What was she supposed to do now?
She tried to calculate how close she’d have to get to the porch to successfully toss the package to the customer’s door without provoking the beast to lunge at her. Thank God she hadn’t been required to get a signature on this delivery; if she had, she might have had to call this situation in to her supervisor and quit.

ANSWERS

puppy: most people see puppies as friendly and harmless, even German Shepherd puppies. The fact that Annie is trying to not go near this puppy suggests she’s so afraid of dogs that even puppies scare her.

cringed: this word indicates fear or dread. For Annie to cringe at a puppy who we can see for ourselves isn’t acting aggressive, she must have a fear of all dogs, and probably a crippling fear.

shit: Annie’s use of a curse word communicates her strong unhappiness or frustration at having encountered a dog.

she tried to calculate how close she’d have to get to the porch: Annie is risking throwing a package at the customer’s door rather than getting close to the puppy. This could get her in trouble at work—what if the package she’s willing to toss onto the porch is breakable?

This moment of calculation by Annie should make the reader wonder: why would she risk trouble at work just to avoid this dog? What’s motivating her extreme reaction? Is she afraid of all dogs?

beast: note how she refers to a puppy with a word reserved for wild animals; she clearly views dogs—even puppies—as unpredictable and violent. You don’t feel this way about dogs, especially puppies, unless you’re afraid of them.

lunge: lunge is a word with aggressive, hostile connotations. This is the behavior Annie’s expecting from a puppy who hasn’t done anything aggressive. The reader should realize from the word lunge that Annie’s expectations about the dog’s behavior aren’t rational; they’re based on her fear.

In conclusion

“Show, don’t tell” is advice with its heart in the right place. In general, readers are going to respond emotionally to showing. Nobody wants to be told that Jack and Rose from the film Titanic are falling in love with each other; they want to see the spark of attraction as it ignites and grows. That’s showing at its best.

A story should show more often than it tells. That’s the sentiment behind the phrase “show, don’t tell.” Why? Because humans remember what they see; it’s a visceral experience. In stories, showing makes readers ask themselves, “What would I do in this situation?”

But don’t forget telling. It’s a valuable tool when you’re sharing need-to-know, “administrative” information about your story, i.e., the stuff that gets your reader from Point A to Point B but isn’t the stuff about emotions, character interactions, or interpersonal dynamics.

In other words, showing is for the human stuff, and telling is what helps you get back to the human stuff—the stuff readers care about—faster.

Questions? Comments? Follow-up ideas? I’d love to hear from you.

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