Academy · Prose craft
What does "show, don't tell" mean?
What does show, don't tell mean?
Beginner
Telling describes a result. "Aldra was angry." Showing puts the result on the page through action, sensation, and reaction. "Aldra slammed the cup down hard enough to crack the saucer." Both have their place. Tell when you need to move time forward fast. Show when the moment matters. Most beginners over-tell; rewriting one or two lines per scene as showing usually fixes it.
Standard
A blunter version: every emotion the character feels should leave a fingerprint somewhere on the world (an action, a posture, a held breath, a cold drink). When a sentence describes how a character feels without changing what's happening on the page, you're telling. That's fine sometimes. Reach for it sparingly.
Example
Telling: She was nervous about meeting him. Showing: She turned the wedding ring on her finger three times before stepping inside.
What to try
- Run the prose-craft inline AI on a paragraph
Related questions
- How do I show emotion?
- When should I tell?