Quick Tip: How to Show Instead of Tell

[AntoineBandele]

Best show versus tell video on YouTube.

[sweetestdarkness]

"I try to keep these videos short". My initial reaction: "No! That's the opposite of what I want" 😂 Please make longer videos if you can/want, I love your content!

[thirdplanet]

One thing l hate a about telling is when a writer says that a character has a certain trait like high intelligence or is always very calm but the writer never really shows that trait at all. Unless the character is not important or the writer wants to mislead us then okay but if the character is suppose to be really important and these traits are always told to us then that's a fail to me.

[richardkeenan]

So great! I am really going to work on this for my showing my world rather than the "info dump" approach and telling. Thanks Chris as always!

[MareQueen]

so far this is way more helpful than other videos I saw, with clear written examples I could see differences and try to follow them up.

[ImusakHctividar]

I like how you can explain a useful tip in 5 minutes what takes most youtubers 10-15 minutes. Good work! I'd also like to add, since the show/tell bit is a good thing to work on when cleaning up the manuscript in later drafts it's also good to look out for those descriptors that end in "ly". The reason I say this is often where those words are, they can either be removed (Thus making for a smoother read), adjusted (Hurried instead of hurriedly), or changed outright.

[CommanderChris]

Need your opinion with this

In your first example your correction was: Jake slammed his fist into the desk, and his eyes went wild.
I have a bit of a problem with it because we don't know what his eyes went wild with: glee, amazement, etc.
Why not add: with fury: at the end.
On a side note I guess you could imply it with events going on. For example if someone called him a derogatory term we could guess his eyes went wild with anger.

[kathyf]

This is the best example of the different between the two terms that I've come across. I really can see the difference now. Thank you. said, I rather have the telling. It's shorter, more accurate, and tells me what I need to know so I can get on with the story. I prefer a five word sentence telling me he's angry to having to read a long paragraph of badly written, flowering prose random listing actions that the reader may, or may not, recognize as a person being angry. I want to read for the story, not to work a deciphering the author's meaning two or three times a page. Too much work. ----Done well, showing is okay; done poorly, and too often, it wastes my time and makes me put the book down and walk away. ----Along with this is writers who talk constantly about clothing, fancy cars, etc. You know, the kind that name drop designers of clothing, shoes, and bags, like anyone really cares what some fictional, empty-headed bimbo with daddy's credit card spends someone else's money on. Saying she wore a cherry red blouse with a white suit and matching bag is enough.

[dgm]

Chris, thanks for doing this video. I love the examples you gave. I think this is one of the most difficult things to get right and people really struggle with understanding it.

[commandertash]

Hey Chris, thank you for your short, helpful videos. They help a lot :)
I often have the feeling that something is wrong with my writing and your tips help me to realize why. I am looking forward to more videos. Keep it up. You are awesome!

[koskk_]

What about in the case of events that impact the environment/world/people in the story?

Like maybe a bunch of random people have been found dead and the only commonality is a web of yellow views around the eyes. How would one show the world/communuty going from ignorance to unease to paranoia to panic and so forth? And be able to show some of these changes before the protagonist(s) knowin what's going on.

[goncalosantos]

Short and sweet! Thanks for all the help.

[KatAdVictoriam]

This is a great, concise video.
Word of caution to any newbies; I got so caught up on not telling that I now have a 500k plus word novel. I'm going to have to chop down relentlessly and editing is tough going. Don't fixate on showing so much you bloat your work.

[G-Blockster]

Good explanation complete with examples. Nicely done. Thank you.

[IDemandAPanda]

Awesome video! Thank you, Chris! I would also love a video which illustrates effective telling. While I agree that it's almost always better to show than to tell, there are times when the author has to tell the reader information. Anyway, keep up the great work!

[andresluna]

Very helpful. Thanks so much. Btw, I’m excited to read your novel. It sounds super interesting

[kaninma]

"That would be telling." --- These words from the opening of The Prisoner come to mind when I hear about telling.

[thesunshinehome]

Yes, please do follow up video - thanks

[angxina]

I keep crying because I can't get this right

[Jirelle]

Hi Chris! Love the video! I have a question, what do you do with filter words (words such as saw, noticed, thought etc)? I believe that the general consensus is that such words weaken your story and that they best can be avoided. I noticed that you used watched in the first example and I was wondering what your stance on it is and what you recommend.