Comments on: When To Tell Instead of Show

By: Maria

Maria — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:14:35 +0000

I think “show not tell” is just writer-jargon for “You didn’t get it right.”
I’ve read the Harry Potter series once. I didn’t notice an annoying amount of telling, because the interesting parts were shown, with plenty of vivid detail.

It’s easy in writing to get caught up in “showing” everything. I think that’s contributed to the backlash against “-ly.” Writers have been repeatedly told “show, not tell,” so they feel they can’t simply say, “she said.”

Not every minute detail needs to be shown to the reader. In between showing and telling there’s also another concept, of “conveying.” What is the purpose of all the showing? If it doesn’t convey some emotion or meaning to the story, then it’s fluff. If it does, then it doesn’t matter if you show or tell. If a “telling” statement sets a tone, or supports the pace of the action, then it works.

I have never been able to work with the concept of show not tell. I think about scenes, actions, visuals, vivid details and word choice.

By: Kidlit.com · First Line Winner Analysis

Kidlit.com · First Line Winner Analysis — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 22:26:29 +0000

[...] a much more active choice. You can, of course, use telling to reinforce key ideas occasionally (see good telling vs. bad telling) but I wouldn’t recommend as the first line. Still, I would keep reading [...]

By: Adrian Faulkner » Blog Archive » Showing & Telling

Adrian Faulkner » Blog Archive » Showing & Telling — Tue, 10 May 2011 15:03:40 +0000

[...] are a couple of good posts today on “Show Don’t Tell”, that age-old mantra cited in just about every writing [...]

By: taft

taft — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:17:28 +0000

Really good stuff, thanks!

By: A Show and Tell show and tell — Chocolate and Vodka

A Show and Tell show and tell — Chocolate and Vodka — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 10:37:41 +0000

[...] When To Tell Instead of Show?, Mary Kole? [...]

By: Adventures in Children's Publishing

Adventures in Children's Publishing — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 03:06:57 +0000

This was a thought-provoking post. I spent several days stewing about your points and some of the things Michael Bourret wrote on telling versus showing in his recent manuscript submissions, and couldn’t resist putting it all together tonight in a blog post. Hope you don’t mind if I included a number of your examples.

http://childrenspublishing.blogspot.com/2010/06/deciding-when-to-show-and-when-to-tell.html

Thanks so much,

Martina

By: Nicholas Rose

Nicholas Rose — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 03:07:32 +0000

This was a very helpful post. From the sound of things, “telling” is good when it directs the reader, simplifies things, varies the sentence structure a bit, or simply “sounds right.” It’s nice to hear that it’s okay sometimes to plainly tell the reader what’s going on, rather than always strain to show every single moment of the story.

By: Franziska Green

Franziska Green — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 19:59:35 +0000

Thanks, Edna. What you say backs up what Kellie said about PBs too. Makes me happy too, as I kept the ‘telling’ part in my PB (the one another critiquer told me I had to get rid of).

By: dirtywhitecandy

dirtywhitecandy — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 17:29:01 +0000

Terrific post. Jane Austen does ‘good telling’ and summarising the whole time in Pride and Prejudice. It’s still vivid and absorbing. I’m tweeting this

By: Edna

Edna — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 06:00:04 +0000

I enjoyed this blog post immensely. Thanks, Mary and Melissa! Someone asked for thoughts on picture books, so as an author/illustrator, I’d like to address the topic. IMHO, the adage “show, don’t tell” is mistakenly adopted as common wisdom for PB’s, sending newbie PB writers down a path littered with extraneous adjectives and flat story arcs.

A compelling story with enticing page turns and growing, climactic tension and satisfying resolution within 32 pages, at under 800 words, IS a tall order. But it can be accomplished with ‘good telling’ because much of the ‘showing’ is done through the illustrations themselves.

In the iconic PB, ‘Where The Wild Things Are,’ a healthy dose of telling is interspersed with Sendak’s mesmerizing illustrations. From pages 15 to 19, one sentence carries Max (and the reader) from one place to another: ‘That very night in Max’s room a forest grew and grew until his ceiling hung with vines and the walls became the world all around.’ The reader is transported to a lush, magical setting described primarily through pigment.

Lastly, rhythm and pacing or ‘beat’ is a significant ingredient in PB’s. The story should sound good to our ears. With ‘good telling,’ these same words also propel the story forward.