Show, Don't Tell—Here’s How to Actually Do It.

If you've spent any time reading writing advice, you've almost certainly heard it: show, don't tell.

It's repeated so often that it can start to feel like a universal rule. Want your writing to be more engaging? Show, don't tell. Want your characters to feel more real? Show, don't tell.

The problem is that the advice sounds much simpler than it actually is. What does showing look like on the page? How do you know when you're telling too much? And, most importantly, how do you fix it?

Let's break it down.

First, telling isn't the enemy

Fiction needs both showing and telling. Showing allows readers to experience moments as they unfold, while telling lets us move efficiently through information that doesn't need to be a main focus.

**Imagine your protagonist has spent three weeks preparing for a job interview. You could write several scenes showing her research and preparation, or simply tell the reader she'd spent weeks getting ready.

Neither approach is automatically better. If her preparation reveals something important about her character, it might deserve a scene. If it's just background information, a sentence may be all it requires.

The goal isn't to eliminate telling. It's to recognize when a moment deserves to be experienced and when it can be summarized.

Three ways to turn telling into showing

1. Replace the named emotion with a revealing detail

Writers often identify emotions directly. Sometimes that's a good thing, but when an emotional moment matters, you can make it more engaging by letting the reader see how it affects the character.

Telling:

Mark was furious when he discovered his business partner had lied to him.

Showing:

Mark read the email again, then closed the laptop. When his partner called, he let it ring.

The second version allows us to infer Mark's anger through his behaviour rather than having it explained to us.

Try it yourself: Find a sentence that names an emotion. What might the character do, notice, or think that would allow the reader to recognize the feeling? Put yourself in their shoes and feel what they're feeling. See through their eyes, hear through their ears, and smell what they're smelling. If you were the one sitting there, in that moment, what would be happening around you?

2. Let actions reveal character

Another common form of telling occurs when the narration explains a character trait that the reader could discover through their actions.

Telling:

David was generous and always put others first.

Showing:

David was the first to put his hand up. A collective relaxing of shoulders happened as he did. No one wanted to coach the soccer team, but David always came to the rescue.

The action demonstrates David's generosity without explicitly labelling him. It also leaves room for the reader to interpret his motivation.

Try it yourself: Look for descriptions of characters as kind, selfish, controlling, or ambitious. Can you find an action or exchange that demonstrates the quality more naturally?

3. Replace general descriptions with specific observations

Showing can also make settings and experiences more immediate.

Telling:

The house was neglected and in poor condition.

Showing:

Paint curled away from the window frames, and a brown stain spread across the ceiling.

The second version gives the reader concrete details to picture. It also creates an opportunity to establish atmosphere or reveal how a character feels about the place.

Try it yourself: Look for general descriptions in your manuscript. Choose one or two specific details that help establish the setting, mood, or viewpoint character's perspective.

When showing goes too far

It's possible to overcorrect. If every emotion becomes a physical reaction and every setting receives a paragraph of sensory description, the writing can become exhausting.

Think about this example:

Emma was disappointed.

You could expand it into a description of slumped shoulders, pressed lips, and a lump in her throat. But if the moment is minor and the scene needs to move forward, the original sentence might be more effective.

Physical reactions can also become repetitive when writers rely on familiar gestures without considering what suits the particular character or situation.

Showing is a tool, not an obligation. The question isn't whether you can dramatize a moment, but whether doing so will improve the scene.

How to decide what your passage needs

When revising, ask yourself three questions:

• Is this moment important enough to dramatize? Major decisions, confrontations, and emotional turning points often benefit from being shown in detail. Routine transitions may not.

• Could the reader discover this for themselves? If you're explaining a character's feelings while the scene offers an opportunity to reveal them through behaviour, showing might create a stronger effect.

• Would more detail actually help? Every description should contribute something meaningful. If the information is already clear, adding more might weaken rather than strengthen the passage.

  
  

These questions can help you identify where a different approach might improve your writing without turning revision into a mechanical exercise.

The real goal is to give the reader the right experience

Show, don't tell is useful advice, but it becomes much more useful when you understand what it's trying to achieve.

The point isn't to make every sentence more descriptive or to avoid naming emotions. It's to give readers the information and experience they need at the right moment.

Sometimes that means slowing down and allowing a scene to unfold. Sometimes it means choosing one revealing detail. And sometimes it means moving on with a simple sentence because the story has more important things to do.

When you encounter a passage that feels flat, don't automatically ask how to show rather than tell. Ask what you want the reader to understand, feel, or discover—and whether the current version is accomplishing that.

Once you know what the passage needs to do, finding the right revision becomes much easier.