Meg LaTorre offered a definition of "show, don't tell" I liked so much that I wrote it down: "allowing the reader to experience information through deducing context clues within a scene." Telling: The pot of oil was hot. Showing: Bubbles erupted on the test French fry as it slid into the pot of oil. Telling: 3 Showing: 1 plus 2. The word "was" is a strong clue that telling is occurring. The key is balance. Sometimes telling is better, and on other occasions, showing is better. With telling, the reader is told what is happening. With showing, the reader experiences what is happening.
These videos are so helpful, you always add a little nugget that make my brain connections fire up. I thought I understood this fairly well, but the example you used about undebateable facts made it way clearer for me. Thanks Shaelin, you're the best!
How do you time these topics so well? I’m about to do another run-through of my manuscript with a focus on the clarity of the characters’ motivations, and this is exactly what I needed. Thank you!
I think it comes down to reader preference (particularly in a sound byte age), reader patience, and reader training. In the Victorian-era, readers would have felt short-changed by "show don't tell" but then would have been exhausted by the 90,000-100,000 word count recommendations for modern novels. I edit until it sounds correct to me, get the book proofread/copy edited, and then self-publish.
You have to know how, when, and to what extent to do it. It's oversimplified advice. You can feel it when an author is following that advice just for its own sake without having a feel for telling the story itself.
Telling can be done in an idiosyncratic way that disturbs, repels, charms, mystifies or beguiles the curious reader. The opening sentence of Isabel Miller's novel 'A Dooryard of Flowers' (1993) her sequence to 'Patience and Sarah' : *A pair of old maids from back East went and brought that place of More's up on the road to Greenville.* The first sentence of Natalie Garcia Freire's novel 'This World Does Not Belong To Us' (2022) : *I don't believe my dead father is watching me. But his body is buried in this garden, what is left of my mother's garden, surrounded by *slugs, camel spiders, earthworms, ants, beetles and woodlice. Perhaps there's even some scorpion that sits beside my father's *semi-decomposed face, together resembling depictions in an Egyptian pharaoh's tomb.*
I was a big fan of the Avatar cartoon but not the movie. One of the movie’s problems was too much telling, and it provided such a great example. In the show the MC was a little goofball who constantly played games. The movie was Very Serious. The MC announced that he loved to play games! And never did. Gutted his character, honestly.
"show, don't tell" is probably the advice that ruined the last 20 years for me, in terms of trying to be a writer. it made me feel like, if i'm not doing this in even the first draft, i'm UNEQUIVOCALLY DOING IT WRONG. therefore, don't do it, don't write at all, unless you're willing and/or able to follow this rule. which, ironically, i might've been able to do, were it not preached at me like a sermon in a church.
@@xensonar9652 Exactly this. Specifically with scifi you should assume your reader is smart enough to deduce most things through context rather than explanation. Yes, some things need explaining, but as with real life most things can be learned through situational experience.
Probably why the Watson character is a common trope in speculative fiction, so the characters have a reason to explain to each other. But like she said, sometimes telling is better. Writers just say “show don’t tell” so often because too much telling is going to always be a much worse problem than too much showing.
I don't like this "description-fobia" trend. If something needs to be described, then do it. It is worse to not know or understand how a character or place is.
Show ring tell isn't good avice sometimes, ---What if the reader happen to lack enough intellect to to decipher hidden symbolims? ---So--- tell as well as show---through imagery, descriptions and symbols...
Focus less on passive aggression and pettiness. Otherwise, good comment! (Newer generations and different people have different accents and vocal affects that aren’t wrong.)
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Meg LaTorre offered a definition of "show, don't tell" I liked so much that I wrote it down: "allowing the reader to experience information through deducing context clues within a scene." Telling: The pot of oil was hot. Showing: Bubbles erupted on the test French fry as it slid into the pot of oil. Telling: 3 Showing: 1 plus 2. The word "was" is a strong clue that telling is occurring. The key is balance. Sometimes telling is better, and on other occasions, showing is better. With telling, the reader is told what is happening. With showing, the reader experiences what is happening.
I love your videos, I've been watching for over 2 years I think and I get so much out of them. Thank you!
Wow, that was good! Really, really excellent explanation, there.
These videos are so helpful, you always add a little nugget that make my brain connections fire up. I thought I understood this fairly well, but the example you used about undebateable facts made it way clearer for me. Thanks Shaelin, you're the best!
How do you time these topics so well? I’m about to do another run-through of my manuscript with a focus on the clarity of the characters’ motivations, and this is exactly what I needed. Thank you!
Very helpful 😊
I think it comes down to reader preference (particularly in a sound byte age), reader patience, and reader training. In the Victorian-era, readers would have felt short-changed by "show don't tell" but then would have been exhausted by the 90,000-100,000 word count recommendations for modern novels. I edit until it sounds correct to me, get the book proofread/copy edited, and then self-publish.
You have to know how, when, and to what extent to do it. It's oversimplified advice. You can feel it when an author is following that advice just for its own sake without having a feel for telling the story itself.
What about using telling to spare the reader something like a long protracted stalemate ?
Telling can be done in an idiosyncratic way that disturbs, repels, charms, mystifies or beguiles the curious reader.
The opening sentence of Isabel Miller's novel 'A Dooryard of Flowers' (1993) her sequence to 'Patience and Sarah' :
*A pair of old maids from back East went and brought that place of More's up on the road to Greenville.*
The first sentence of Natalie Garcia Freire's novel 'This World Does Not Belong To Us' (2022) :
*I don't believe my dead father is watching me. But his body is buried in this garden, what is left of my mother's garden, surrounded by
*slugs, camel spiders, earthworms, ants, beetles and woodlice. Perhaps there's even some scorpion that sits beside my father's
*semi-decomposed face, together resembling depictions in an Egyptian pharaoh's tomb.*
Correction : NATALIA GARCIA FREIRE.
This debut novel which won the English Pen Award is translated from the Spanish by Victor Meadowcroft.
I admit that I use dialogue way too much to "tell." A bad habit.
I was a big fan of the Avatar cartoon but not the movie. One of the movie’s problems was too much telling, and it provided such a great example. In the show the MC was a little goofball who constantly played games. The movie was Very Serious. The MC announced that he loved to play games! And never did. Gutted his character, honestly.
"show, don't tell" is probably the advice that ruined the last 20 years for me, in terms of trying to be a writer. it made me feel like, if i'm not doing this in even the first draft, i'm UNEQUIVOCALLY DOING IT WRONG. therefore, don't do it, don't write at all, unless you're willing and/or able to follow this rule.
which, ironically, i might've been able to do, were it not preached at me like a sermon in a church.
Writing Scifi world building requires telling I believe.
Quite true.
Depends. Often even complex ideas can be experienced by characters and evidenced by the situation instead of just told by the narrator.
@@xensonar9652 Exactly this. Specifically with scifi you should assume your reader is smart enough to deduce most things through context rather than explanation. Yes, some things need explaining, but as with real life most things can be learned through situational experience.
Writing sci-fi first person is a challenge for me. Too much show can feel claustrophobic.
Probably why the Watson character is a common trope in speculative fiction, so the characters have a reason to explain to each other. But like she said, sometimes telling is better. Writers just say “show don’t tell” so often because too much telling is going to always be a much worse problem than too much showing.
I'll show it to you, if you promise not to tell everyone that I showed you 😅
I don't like this "description-fobia" trend. If something needs to be described, then do it. It is worse to not know or understand how a character or place is.
Show ring tell isn't good avice sometimes, ---What if the reader happen to lack enough intellect to to decipher hidden symbolims? ---So--- tell as well as show---through imagery, descriptions and symbols...
You look good in long hairs❤
I've never heard so much vocal fry in my life. Why are people talking like this? This is devolution; get speech therapy.
Focus on less vocal fry. :) otherwise good video
Focus less on passive aggression and pettiness. Otherwise, good comment!
(Newer generations and different people have different accents and vocal affects that aren’t wrong.)
i wouldve never noticed if you hadnt written this comment 😒😒