The Difference Between Showing and Telling
A small primer for fiction writers.
My go-to for teaching the difference between show and tell as it relates to writing fiction is to say it’s the difference between being at a party and hearing all about it the next day.
Said another way — it’s the difference between the trip and the photos.
Most of the time, as fiction writers, it’s our job to invite our readers to the party instead of sitting down over coffee the next day and spilling the tea.
But, not all the time. And also? It can be really hard to decide whether or not we’re actually showing or telling at all. I can’t tell you how often I’ve talked to frustrated writers who are struggling with understanding the concept.
So, I thought I’d put together a little primer for you.
Are you showing or telling?
First things first, let’s talk about how to know the difference.
Telling is narrative. It’s summary. When you’re telling in your prose, you’re point-of-view character is somewhere in time past the event in question. They’re stating that the thing happened.
Here are some examples.
- We spent all night talking about the future.
