I wrote a story but I feel like my descriptions are the weakest part. Do you have any advice for someone struggling with show donât tell?
Your Guide to Showing and Not Telling
1) Familiarize yourself with more vocabulary.
In order to show effectively, itâs wise to have an arsenal. If you find yourself repetitively using the same words, think about real life examples of what reminds you of that specific word. This can be something in nature, an item, object, person, anything.
Meh. Any synonyms for tall? What are some things that are considered tall in the real world? Trees, skyscrapers, stilts, lampposts, ladders... hmm.
âAs we stood on the street, he loomed over me like a lamppost in the night.â
Now your description not only shows the reader that he is tall, but it also grounds the reader to a setting and adds a threatening, eerie mood.Â
2) When you read, highlight or take notes on where you observe the author showing instead of telling.
This will not only inspire you to write, but will fill your arsenal with interesting vocabulary to help with showing in your own story.
3) Why is showing so important? Can I never tell?
Showing is important because it paints a picture in the readers mind. A major purpose of fiction is to place the audience in a world where they can use their imagination. Telling too much can make your reader feel like an observer of the story, while showing puts them right in the heart of it.
However, telling has it's place in a novel and not every single thing needs to be shown. A good story has a mixture of showing and telling (probably more showing though of course), and as the author you decide when you do which. Major scenes should probably be rich in showing details, while minor quick descriptions could do just fine with some things being told.
4) Don't show and tell in the same sentence
This might be considered a stylistic thing, but it's definitely not necessary to show and tell at the same time. This can clutter your text. Your descriptions should be strong enough that you donât need to tell the reader what they just read.
"Bad" (showing): "He was really tall."
Better (showing and telling): "He was really tall, always having to dip his head below the door frame."
Best (showing): "He dipped below the door frame and everyone in the room looked up at him."
I put "bad" in quotation marks because I don't like saying that telling is bad, because that's not always the case as mentioned above. Rules are just guidelines in writing, and once you fully understand why the rules exist in the first place, you can begin to bend them.
If you find yourself always telling instead of showing, try to think of the five senses. What does your character hear, taste, see, feel or smell?Â
âBadâ: The manor was old and creepy.âÂ
Better:Â âThe manor was wrapped in yellowing wallpaper and wine stained rugs. Candice was careful not to step on one of the many splintered floorboards as she made her way upstairs. She paused for a moment, the wooden step loose beneath her foot and listened to the low hum of the furnace and the howling of the wind.â
Make sure not to overload the reader, though. We all know there is such a thing as too much details.
6) Give your characters props/items
When we get angry, we punch walls, break plates and throw things. (Okay, maybe not all of us). When weâre happy, we pick up our cats and twirl them around. My point is: if there is an object nearby your character, it could be used to help show their emotions/actions better.
âThe phone slipped out of Kyleâs hand and his mouth fell open.â
Instagram: coffeebeanwriting
đ â Official Blog: www.byzoemay.com