Is That Show, Don't Tell or Tell, Don't Show?

"There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are." W. Somerset Maugham.

At my writing club meeting yesterday, we discussed the oft heard rule, Show, Don't Tell. I really believe that the first rule of writing is There Are No Rules. Really. There are however, some really good suggestions that maybe you ought to pay attention to. When I became a submissions editor for Mindflights, I realized why writers harp on the show, don't tell thing so much. One of the most common reasons stories get rejected by me is too much telling and not enough showing.

What's the difference between telling and showing? I once heard it described as scene (showing) vs. summary (telling). Most of your story or novel should be told in scene, not just summarized. Scene brings the reader into the story and lets them experience the action along with the characters. Summary distances the reader from the narrative.

That said, there are times when telling is better than showing. For instance, if you need a transition between parts of the story, but nothing important is happening during that transition, just tell it. For example: They drove to the ranch. If nothing happens during the drive to the ranch and you try to show it, it'll just be boring. An excess of showing can be just as detrimental to the story as a lack of showing.

There is also another more subtle kind of telling that can creep into your writing when you think you are showing. That has to do with sentences like this:

She was tired.
He felt scared.

These examples merely tell something about the character instead of showing something. For example: She came in the front door, collapsed on the couch and groaned. She didn't want to move again until morning. This sentence shows us that she is tired without even using the word tired.

Spotting this kind of showing brings us to another one of those "rules." Eliminate all "to be" verbs from your writing. Well, in my opinion that's impossible and just plain stupid, BUT when you have a sentence with a was, is, am, were, etc. in it, there's a good chance you are telling rather than showing.

Showing will engage the reader in the story more than telling will, but telling is necessary at times too. Deciding which to do is just a matter of practice. Yes, that's right. Practice Good writing requires practice just like any other skill. Here's the practice exercise I gave to the Loafer Ladies:

Take the sentence, "Gary was afraid of heights," and write a short passage showing that Gary is afraid of heights without using the phrase "afraid of heights," or even "afraid" or "heights." Our group came up with some great little scenes revealing Gary's fear of heights. Go on and try it for yourself. Post it in the comments if you want. I'd love to see what you come up with.