Show, don't tell
Narratology & storytellingShow through action, gesture and detail rather than assert through adjectives: "he clenched his fists" rather than "he was furious."
Example
Telling: "she was afraid." Showing: "she checked the lock twice, then dragged the dresser in front of the door."
"Show, don't tell": prefer scene, gesture and sensory detail to abstract assertion. "He was generous" reads and fades; watching him slip his gloves to a freezing stranger stays. The shown version engages readers, who deduce for themselves — and we always believe what we deduced more than what we were told.
The rule isn't absolute, though: telling is the legitimate tool of compression (three months in one sentence), transitions, and information without emotional stakes. Showing everything would make a novel endless. The useful split: show what must be felt; tell what must be known.
Go further
Show, don't tell: the rule unpackedPut this term to work
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