Showing and Telling

Showing and telling in writing both have their strengths in different scenarios, but it's important that a writer understands when to use them. Showing is important for making a reader feel as if they are in the story, done by “working with the immediate physical and emotional actions and experience of the characters.” Said simply, it is the use of descriptive language, particularly related to the characters, in order to persuade the reader to read as if they are present in the story.

Telling, often overused by beginner writers, is simply supplying information to the reader. In the act of telling, an author will write as if they are telling you a story, instead of trying to fit you into it. It may also be referred to as informing, explaining, or understanding.

After reading this article, I’ve learned how to further advance my writing. It gave me an insight on the difference between telling a story and involving your audience in the story. I learned that good ways to capture your audience into the story include dialogue and in-depth description.  I also learned that it’s sometimes important to step away from physical and emotional experience of the character, in order to provide understanding to your audience through simple context.

The article also discusses avoiding adjectives or adverbs, and switching to words which embody that moment in the story, creating a vivid picture versus a descriptive image.

Overall, this article taught me that showing and telling, although equally important, only become useful in the correct context. I also learned several different tactics to involve the audience in my writing.