Showing posts with label tell. Show all posts
Monday, February 16, 2015
Don�t Show, Don�t Tell
Generally speaking showing is considered a better type of writing than telling, but there are times when neither feels quite right. Fortunately there are a couple of techniques that use neither approach.
Telling is something like �John felt sad� and has the advantage of being short and quick, but it tends to lack emotional engagement. You know what the writer means, you understand the character�s experience, but you don�t necessarily feel it too.
Showing might be something like �John let out a barely audible sigh and a single tear rolled down his cheek� which lets you see what�s happening rather than being told. This, when done right (unlike my horrible example), enables the reader to feel more present and empathetic with the character, but it can take up a lot more space.
But what if you want to create an immediate and visceral effect for the reader without taking up too much room?
In some cases you can avoid this whole quandary by not going shorter but by going a lot longer. The example of showing I used above isn�t actually showing in the true sense, it�s more description than action. I�m showing you the physical manifestation of sadness, and that can elicit an emotional response from a reader in much the same way you might start tearing up when someone next to you starts crying, but for a truer emotional connection you need to show the actual cause of the sadness and let it affect both reader and character simultaneously.
This means you never actually mention sadness because the narrative creates the effect for you. If you spend time with a character, when they learn the child they put up for adoption died many years ago their reaction won�t need to be captured in a long description, you�ll have a reaction of your own.
However, you won�t always want to write a whole scene to convey the way a character is feeling. If Dave wakes up and his throat feels very dry, you might not want to create a whole scenario leading up to that revelation. But you might still want the reader to be in a similar frame of mind as the character and getting them to share a sensation can help do that.
Simply stating, �Dave woke up feeling incredibly thirsty� will get the idea across but not the feeling.
A long-winded description of what it feels like to have lips stuck together and a prickly sensation every time you take a gulp isn�t much better.
What helps in situations like this is not to show what the character is experiencing but to use a similar, more concise example. Similes and metaphors work well at quickly getting an idea across to a reader while containing a lot of extra information that doesn�t need to be explicitly stated.
What you have to watch out for is the temptation to use clich�s. Dry throats might bring ideas of deserts and cactus to mind. To everyone. Clich�s are great at getting ideas across, but terrible at transferring emotions.
It�s not easy, though. Phil�s fist connected with the policeman�s jaw and he went down like a...
Hard not to think of a sack of potatoes. But finding the right visual is fun and can be very satisfying when two separate ideas come together to capture a feeling people instantly recognise.
That�s not so say you can�t overdo it.
Dave woke with his lips cemented together by dry saliva. He staggered into the kitchen like a newborn foal and filled a glass with water. The first sip went down like a man falling off a cliff and hitting every crag and ledge on the way to the bottom.
It can feel a bit much. Better to simply tell the reader the basics and add one interesting detail rather than a series of odd images that end up distracting from the story rather than adding to it.
Understanding when to use which approach is key, but comes down to personal preference in a lot of cases.
Telling has no emotional component, but sometimes it�s enough to just say someone sneezed, you don�t have to describe the trajectory of every piece of spittle.
Showing through description, like describing a smile or a raised eyebrow, has a limited capacity for creating emotional reactions in the reader, it�s more useful as a way to help the reader visualise the moment.
Using analogies and similes is a great way to make a quick emotional impact, but clich�s reduce it to having the same effect as telling. Also, as with telling, more examples don�t add much. Once they understand what�s happening, more details won�t deepen that understanding.
Showing through action is the best way to build an emotional rapport with the reader but takes time. And it�s highly dependent on how well the reader has bonded with the character. If the hero walks in on his wife in bed with another man at the start of the story, the effect on the reader will be a lot less than if the exact same scene happened later in the book when the reader is a lot more familiar with the character.
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Monday, March 18, 2013
Tell The Reader Why
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.
If you found this post useful please give it a retweet. Cheers.
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