Assignment 5.4: Show Don't (Just) Tell
3. How to Show not Tell
How to “Show,” not “Tell”
1. Use descriptive details. (Think about your five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch.) You can review your notes and work from Assignment 3.1.
2. Use action. (Strong verbs!)
3. Use dialogue and character thoughts.
You can review your notes and work from Assignment 3.2 where you used direct and indirect characterization.
Examples of Effective “Showing”
Read these examples of descriptions that create images and generate emotions in the reader. What are the main ideas, emotions, and impressions that you get from these descriptions?
“Whenever puppies in the pet store window distracted me from our walk, Fido flattened his scruffy ears, growling. But he always forgave me. As his sight faded, the smell of fresh air and the feel of grass would make him try to caper. Eventually, at the sound of my voice, his tail thumped weakly on the ground. This morning, I filled his water bowl all the way to the top–just the way he likes it–before I remembered.”
“When the recess bell rang, I grabbed my chess set and dashed to freedom, eager to win the daily tournament of outcasts. I didn’t look, but I knew Lucinda was watching. I could feel her curly locks swaying as her head tracked me. Of course, I tripped in the doorway. Tennis shoes and sandals stepped around me as I scrambled after pawns and bishops. And there was Lucinda, waiting for me to notice her. She smiled, lifted her shiny patent-leather shoe, and slowly, carefully ground her heel right on the head of my white queen.”
(examples from Jerz’s Literacy Weblog: http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative1/showing/)
"Don't tell us that the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream." -- Samuel Clemens