Show Don't Tell Is Incomplete
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"Show, don't tell."
Every writer hears it. From teachers, from editors, from other writers.
Don't say "she was angry." Show her slamming the door.
Don't say "he was nervous." Show his hands shaking.
It's good advice. But it's incomplete.
When Showing Slows You Down
Here's what happens when you take "show don't tell" too literally:
Your pacing dies.
You spend three paragraphs describing a character's outfit when all that matters is they're wealthy.
You "show" every single emotional beat when the reader just needs to know the character is conflicted.
You turn a tight scene into a slog.
Sometimes telling is faster. And faster is better.
The Real Rule
Here's the better version of "show don't tell":
Show what matters. Tell the rest.
If the emotion is the point of the scene, show it.
If it's just context, tell it.
Example:
Tell: "She'd been furious with him for weeks."
Show: She tore the letter in half without reading it, then tore it again. And again. Until the pieces were too small to tear.
Use the first when you need to establish backstory quickly. Use the second when you want the reader to feel the anger.
The Best Writers Mix Both
Look at any great novel. You'll find both showing and telling, often in the same paragraph.
Telling sets up context. Showing delivers the moment.
Example from my own work (Threads of Resilience):
"Mara had never trusted authority—ten years in the system had taught her that. But when the officer handed her the file, her hands didn't shake. She wanted him to see she wasn't afraid."
First sentence: tell (backstory, quickly established).
Second sentence: show (what she does in this moment, what it reveals).
Both needed. Neither wasted.
When to Show
Show when:
- The emotion is the scene's focus
- The reader needs to feel it, not just know it
- It reveals character through action
- It creates tension or conflict
When to Tell
Tell when:
- You need to move the plot forward
- The information is necessary but not dramatic
- Showing would slow the pacing unnecessarily
- The reader doesn't need to feel it, just know it
The Test
Ask yourself: what is this scene about?
If it's about grief, show the grief.
If it's about a betrayal, show the betrayal.
But if grief is just context for why the character makes a decision, you can tell it in one line and move on.
Trust your reader. They're smart. They don't need everything dramatized.
What This Changes
When I stopped trying to show everything, my writing got tighter.
Scenes that dragged for pages became crisp.
The moments that mattered hit harder because they weren't diluted by unnecessary detail.
"Show don't tell" is a tool. Use it where it works.
Don't let it become a straitjacket.
Steve Ysreal Monas writes fiction and nonfiction including Threads of Resilience. More at stevemonas.com.
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