Failure ModesFoundational
Telling Instead of Showing
The prose names emotions and traits the scene could enact.
Principle
Stated feeling lands less than felt feeling.
Takeaways
- If the action is on the page, the label is not needed.
- Telling has its uses; reflexive telling does not.
- Underlining a moment with a label can flatten it.
Overview
When the prose names an emotional or characterising fact that the scene already enacts, the label diminishes the rendering. It can also stand in for a scene the writer has not figured out how to dramatise.
Examples
- A line saying she was afraid, after a paragraph that has shown the fear.
- A summary of a quarrel rather than a scene.
- A character described as charming without ever charming anyone.