While showing, rather than telling, is an excellent technique when it comes to moments of action, drama and emotion, there are times when telling is a far more useful and efficient approach to take.
One of those times is when dealing with motivation. Why a character does what he does is going to be a key part of any scene.
It�s important that you make the reader aware of the character�s reasons as quickly as possible. As a writer, you may think you can withhold that information and that the reader will assume you will fill them in later and not be too bothered. You would be wrong.
It�s incredibly annoying not knowing the reasons for a character�s actions, and it directly affects how you view what they�re doing. It's much more difficult to engage or empathise with a character when you don�t know their reasons.
But it�s hard to show motivation, especially if there are subtle or complex reasons behind a character�s behaviour. And in most cases it�s just a matter of practical necessity.
If a character is unscrewing an air vent in order to escape from a locked room, or if he�s doing it to hide a bag full of money in there, a longwinded demonstration of his reasons is less important than just letting the reader know which it is.
Waiting until he�s finished taking down the vent cover before telling us why he�s doing it may not seem like a big deal, but not knowing what�s going on isn�t a desirable state to be in. And holding back and then revealing fairly mundane information isn�t very impressive.
Far more effective to just tell the reader he�s hiding the money from his wife who�ll only ask where the money came from, and since he promised her he wouldn�t rob any more banks, she wouldn�t like the answer. And then move on.
Trying to �show� that motivation wouldn�t be difficult and totally unnecessary. And not telling the reader until later would gain nothing and just make the story seem vague.
It�s obvious why aspiring writers often take the vague approach. The idea of not knowing what�s going on and then finding out seems like a narrative structure that will keep readers engaged, but it�s an artificial way to do it. If a guy is searching under his bed for something there�s no point in making a mystery out of it if all he�s doing is looking for his shoes.
There�s also the issue of POV. If the character knows why they�re doing what they�re doing, so should the reader (assuming we�re in that character�s POV). Not revealing the reasons just feels unnecessarily coy.
Of course, if the POV character doesn�t know why they�re doing what they�re doing then neither will the reader, but then someone should ask them (or they should ask themselves) why they�re acting in this way. You don�t have to provide an answer, but showing the reader you are aware of the lack of motivation will buy you time. Not for very long though.
It�s incredibly annoying not knowing the reasons for a character�s actions, and it directly affects how you view what they�re doing. It's much more difficult to engage or empathise with a character when you don�t know their reasons.
But it�s hard to show motivation, especially if there are subtle or complex reasons behind a character�s behaviour. And in most cases it�s just a matter of practical necessity.
If a character is unscrewing an air vent in order to escape from a locked room, or if he�s doing it to hide a bag full of money in there, a longwinded demonstration of his reasons is less important than just letting the reader know which it is.
Waiting until he�s finished taking down the vent cover before telling us why he�s doing it may not seem like a big deal, but not knowing what�s going on isn�t a desirable state to be in. And holding back and then revealing fairly mundane information isn�t very impressive.
Far more effective to just tell the reader he�s hiding the money from his wife who�ll only ask where the money came from, and since he promised her he wouldn�t rob any more banks, she wouldn�t like the answer. And then move on.
Trying to �show� that motivation wouldn�t be difficult and totally unnecessary. And not telling the reader until later would gain nothing and just make the story seem vague.
It�s obvious why aspiring writers often take the vague approach. The idea of not knowing what�s going on and then finding out seems like a narrative structure that will keep readers engaged, but it�s an artificial way to do it. If a guy is searching under his bed for something there�s no point in making a mystery out of it if all he�s doing is looking for his shoes.
There�s also the issue of POV. If the character knows why they�re doing what they�re doing, so should the reader (assuming we�re in that character�s POV). Not revealing the reasons just feels unnecessarily coy.
Of course, if the POV character doesn�t know why they�re doing what they�re doing then neither will the reader, but then someone should ask them (or they should ask themselves) why they�re acting in this way. You don�t have to provide an answer, but showing the reader you are aware of the lack of motivation will buy you time. Not for very long though.
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