How to Write Fiction 9: Showing vs. Telling

[@louaguilar1601]

Great. Loved your tea making example. Reminded me of a story lesson by one of the greatest screenwriters of all time, and a good novelist (The Princess Bride), William Goldman.

[@Hard_Boiled_Entertainment]

To "Tell", then, is to gloss over the events. To "Show" is to bond the reader to what happens. To make it VIVID. Not just "detailed."

[@Hard_Boiled_Entertainment]

There you have it: If one were to only Show, the story would be insanely long. Thus, I tend to add "Whenever possible" to "Show, don't Tell"--as in, within the confines of "How long is this going to take?" But your specification of what "Showing" actually MEANS helps clarify the rule a LOT.