Scribd
Upload
29 views14 pages

Show Dont Tell

Here are some ways to show the action instead of telling for those sentences: - George balled his hands into fists, glaring at Tina as his arm twitched, wanting to swing. - The sun beat down on us as we trudged up the trail for hours, sweat soaking through my shirt. - Christine strained to lift the statue but it wouldn't budge, her arms shaking from the weight. - My stomach growled loudly as I opened the fridge for the tenth time, still hoping for food to appear. - Trina's cheeks flushed red when Jake walked over, her eyes dropping to the floor. - Paul's face turned bright red as chocolate ice cream dripped down

Uploaded by

Tiffany Eccles
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
29 views14 pages

Show Dont Tell

Here are some ways to show the action instead of telling for those sentences: - George balled his hands into fists, glaring at Tina as his arm twitched, wanting to swing. - The sun beat down on us as we trudged up the trail for hours, sweat soaking through my shirt. - Christine strained to lift the statue but it wouldn't budge, her arms shaking from the weight. - My stomach growled loudly as I opened the fridge for the tenth time, still hoping for food to appear. - Trina's cheeks flushed red when Jake walked over, her eyes dropping to the floor. - Paul's face turned bright red as chocolate ice cream dripped down

Uploaded by

Tiffany Eccles
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 14

Fabricated

to invent or produce something


false in order to deceive someone:
Word of
the Day He was late, so he fabricated an
excuse to avoid trouble.
He claims that the police fabricated
evidence against him.
Show Don’t Tell!
• Showing: As his mother switched off the light and left the room,
Michael tensed. He huddled under the covers, gripped the sheets, and
held his breath as the wind brushed past the curtain.

• Telling: Michael was terribly afraid of the dark.


• One of the best ways to show rather than tell is to create a
sense of setting. You can do this by writing about how
characters perceive and interact with their surroundings,
Tip #1. Create a weaving plenty of sensory details and occasional action
into the scene. This is a particularly good way to lend
sense of setting immediacy to your story, as the reader should be able to
imagine themselves in that very setting.
• Telling: I walked through the forest. It was already Fall
and I was getting cold.
• Showing: The dry orange leaves crunched under my feet
as I pulled the collar up on my coat.
Tip #2. Use dialogue to show character

• In addition to setting, you can also use dialogue to demonstrate story


elements beyond the surface conversation. A character’s speech will
tell the reader a lot about them, especially when they’re first being
introduced.
• Do they use long sentences or do they prefer short, punchy replies?
Are there likely to use slang and call an authority figure “dude” or
“fam” or will they address them respectfully as “Mr. So-and-So”?
• Imagine having to describe the setting every time your
characters enter a new space — any pace you had built in your
chapter would be destroyed. However, it’s still important to
Tip #3. If in evoke the setting and put your scene in context. And that’s
where showing action comes in handy.
doubt, • Let’s say you start your scene with your character walking
through Port Of Spain. Instead of describing the pigeons,
always people and the layout of the space, you can evoke it through
action:
describe • Jacob found himself pushing against the tide of People busy
shopping around on independence square. A clump of
action pigeons scattered in front of him as he quickly tried to
reach Charlotte street on time.
• Through action, you’re able to describe the setting of the
scene while also maintaining your story’s forward motion.
Tip #4. Use strong details, but don’t overdo it

• Strong, vivid details are crucial to the process of showing. However,


that doesn’t mean you should include too many details, especially
those that are overly embellished. This kind of excessively ornate
language can be just as bad as “telling” language that’s too basic, as it
may cause the reader to lose interest in your super-dense prose.
• Too much detail: The statue felt rough, its aged facade caked with
dust and grime as I weighed it in my hand, observing its jagged curves
and Fanta-coloured hue.
• Just right: It was heavier than it looked. Some of the orange facade
crumbled in my hand as I picked it up.
Activity

Change these sentences to show the


action instead of telling.
• George was so angry at Tina, he almost hit her.
• We walked the hike trail for hours, I was so hot and
tired.
• Christine tried to lift the statue but it was too heavy.
• I had not eaten all day, I was so hungry!
• Trina felt shy when she saw her crush
• Paul felt so embarrassed when the ice-cream fell on his shirt
• She ran into the woods, scared.

You might also like