Writers know that to show is better than to tell. They also know that a good story includes some telling. Here are five times when it’s better to tell.
Writers know that showing is better than telling. They also know that a good story includes some telling.
Sometimes your characters need a break. They may need to think, or retreat for a moment. Time marches on and many events in a character’s life are not vital to your story. Sometimes it is better to tell your readers about these things.
Telling is sometimes called using a summary mode. It is one of the few times you get to tell the reader what happens, but it should be used sparingly. If over-used, it can be boring as it distances the reader from the viewpoint character’s goals and actions.
Try to keep telling to a few paragraphs, or in some (extremely) rare cases, a short chapter. Too much telling can lead to author intrusion.
5 Instances When You Need To Tell (And Not Show)
1. To connect scenes, introduce characters, and/or gloss over unnecessary conversations.
Sometimes you need to make your readers comfortable with a brief transition that lets them know where they are in the story. You may also have the appearance of a character and showing might be distracting. The characters might have travelled to another city or moved to a different room. Or a short period of time might 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 and/or gloss over unimportant characters.
You can tell us about the things that happened in your character’s lives that aren’t vitally important to show in the story.
For example, if your story is set in a school environment, briefly tell us how the characters spent their Christmas holidays at home. Don’t introduce us to a series of characters who have nothing to do with the main story.
3. To show that time is passing.
Books can span days or decades. We don’t need to know what happens every moment. Use telling to reveal that time has passed, seasons have changed, or people have aged to get us to 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 we need to get into his or her emotions with telling. Bear in mind, though, that this is an old-fashioned way of writing. Madame Bovary would not be published today. Move your character back into the action of the story as soon as you can.
5. To add backstory.
Sometimes a little bit of telling is necessary. When there is no other way of introducing the past, you can add it in, but remember to reveal these bits and pieces gradually. Keep this as brief as possible, and remember that you should not start a novel or a memoir with backstory.
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
- Cheat Sheets for Writing Body Language
- 5 Incredibly Simple Ways to Help Writers Show and Not Tell
- 60 Things For Your Characters To Do When They Talk Or Think
Top Tip: If you want to learn how to write a book, sign up for our online course.
9 thoughts on “5 Instances When You Need To Tell”
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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