Narrative DeliveryFoundational
Show, Don't Tell
Render experience in scene rather than summarising it.
Principle
The reader should arrive at the conclusion before being told the conclusion.
Takeaways
- Telling has its place: transition, summary, distance.
- Showing dramatises; telling reports.
- Used as an absolute, the rule produces overwritten scenes.
Overview
Show, don't tell is the principle that emotional and characterising content lands harder when dramatised than when stated. It is a guideline, not a law: the most economical prose mixes scene and summary deliberately.
Examples
- Instead of 'she was angry', her hand finds the chair back.
- Instead of 'the house was old', the floor remembered each step.
- Instead of 'they were in love', neither moved when the kettle began to scream.