Every writer who’s ever taken a creative writing class has heard the instruction: “Show don’t tell.” It’s so often said, it’s almost meaningless. Except it shouldn’t be. Because if actually understood, being able to show and not tell can make the difference between a humdrum story and a tale that comes alive.
“Show don’t tell” is classic writing advice, and for good reason. Imagine the difference between reading, “she’s angry,” and reading, “her hands tightened into fists; her fingernails pressed so hard against her palms that blood surfaced to her sensitive skin.” Okay, maybe I made that up really quickly, and it’s not the most eloquent of lines. But you see what I’m going for. There can be a named emotion, and then there can be the reality of it that a reader can be pulled into.
Let your readers see, hear, feel, and smell what’s going on. Just like a movie, let them take in the entire scene. You cheat them when you just briefly summarize. Don’t just say the room was small; make your reader feel claustrophobic. Don’t say a character is tired; show the weight of his day on his motions and his mind. Let your reader live through the scenes with your characters, being made to feel what the characters feel, seeing them move through vividly created places and react as people, not as two-dimensional, flat beings.
Imagining themselves fully in your world, your readers will become more attached, and getting your readers attached to your characters and your world is key, right?
Happy writing!