5 Instances When You Need To Tell (Not Show) In Your Writing
Learn when to break the ‘show don’t tell’ rule. Discover five instances where telling can improve your writing and strengthen your story.
Writers know that showing is better than telling. They also know that a good story needs some telling.
Sometimes your characters need a break. They may need time to think, reflect, or retreat for a moment. Time moves forward, and many events in a character’s life are not important enough to show in detail. Sometimes it is better to simply tell your readers what happened.
Telling is sometimes called summary mode. It is one of the few times you get to tell the reader what happens, but it should be used sparingly. If overused, it can become boring because it distances readers from the viewpoint character’s goals and actions.
Try to keep telling to a few paragraphs, or, in rare cases, a short chapter. Too much telling can lead to author intrusion.
5 Instances When You Need To Tell (Not Show) In Your Writing
1. To connect scenes, introduce characters, or gloss over unnecessary conversations.
Sometimes you need to make your readers comfortable with a brief transition that shows them where they are in the story. You may also need to introduce a character without allowing their arrival to distract from the main plot. Characters might have travelled to another city, moved to a different room, or a short period of time may have passed.
Example: ‘Jeremy waited until five minutes past eight the next morning before he marched into The Michelangelo Towers. He had spent the night obsessing about his future. Kirsten’s demands echoed in his head and he could barely think straight. He walked to the check-in counter and asked the concierge to call Room 303.’
2. To report events or gloss over unimportant characters.
You can tell readers about events in your character’s life that are not important enough to show in the story.
For example, if your story is set in a school environment, you can briefly tell us how the characters spent their Christmas holidays. Don’t introduce a series of characters who have nothing to do with the main story.
3. To show that time is passing.
Books can span days, years, or even decades. Readers do not need to experience every moment. Use telling to reveal that time has passed, seasons have changed, or people have aged so that you can move the story towards the next important part of the story.
4. To focus on emotion when showing is impossible.
Sometimes a character is so isolated or immobile that telling is the best way to explore their emotions. Bear in mind, though, that this is an older style of writing. Madame Bovary would not be published today. Move your character back into the action of the story as soon as possible.
5. To add backstory.
Sometimes a little telling is necessary. When there is no other way to introduce the past, you can add it, but reveal these details gradually. Keep backstory brief, and remember that you should not begin a novel or memoir with a long explanation of what happened before the story starts.
The Last Word
‘Show don’t tell’ is an important writing principle, but it is not an unbreakable rule. Understanding when to tell allows writers to control pacing, provide important information, and create a stronger connection with readers. The best stories use both showing and telling, with each technique serving a clear purpose.
If you enjoyed this post, read:
- Show! Don’t tell. Avoid these 10 verbs when you write
- 3 Simple Ways To Show And Not Tell
- Show Don’t Tell: 5 Simple Techniques Every Writer Should Know
by Amanda Patterson
© Amanda Patterson
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9 thoughts on “5 Instances When You Need To Tell (Not Show) In Your Writing”
With all the pressure to ‘show and not tell’ this is a refreshing and useful piece.
I needed more examples.
Whilst I agree in principle, there are still many techniques that a skilled writer can utilize instead of employing narration to fill in the gaps. For example: In my latest story, a period of months passes by between Act One and Act Two. Besides the super, stating the date change, I have also advanced the clock on a few of the key characters.
A young couple celebrates the anniversary of their once budding relationship; a new mother feeds her infant child; the repercussions of an habitual drunk parent are borne on her child; the seasonal change in the local flora… Very easy to master and a subtle way of progressing the story.
This is always comforting to remember. True, you should most of the time show and not tell, but sometimes telling works best for certain moments of the story, especially for character development.
Hello, I would like to be a writer. But I did not get much education about writing when I was in school and all I could do was read books. But getting them was also not easy as we were poor. Anyways, time passed by and now I am 25 and in college! I have enough time on my hands to write but I lack education 🙁 and right now I am not even studying english literature or anything. Because they don’t teach it here.
I am so inspired by your articles, as I read them, I understand what you are telling me. and I feel like I can do it, but still I am afraid haha.anyways just wanted to let you know you are awesome 🙂
Thank you, Misty.
Don’t be afraid. Just keep on writing and you will eventually succeed.
But where do I start? How do I go about it? I am always day dreaming, I turn myself into the character in my daydreams and I follow through events. I know it may sound silly but I even change my hair, eye colour and everything. But what I daydream are just stories, they won’t stand out among the crowd. Am I just giving myself false hope here? I don’t know where to start and how to go about it. I am stuck, I am indecisive and I quit easily.
you start by collecting your thoughts together, use a notebook to write down you idea for a story…then write!
you ‘start’ by writing each day, write your story, DO NOT EDIT IN BETWEEN CHAPTERS, write your story to the END…..then go back and edit the dialogue, the scenery, or perhaps delete chapters that no longer fit the story any longer….you ‘start’ with Chapter 1…the first word then continue to the end…
Hey, Misty! Just take down as much as you can of your daydreams, fill them out. Add anything that might be missing. If they seem like full stories, read them out loud. If they sound good, get someone else to look at them, or listen. If people like them (or hate them, in a good way) you’ve got it. If not, try again!
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