Series: unpopular opinion
WHY SHOW DON'T TELL IS A BAD ADVICE?
What’s the difference between these two:
“It was so hot that I didn’t want to go to school.”
“Under the scorching heat of June, the concrete pavement burned what’s left of my desire to go to school. Each time my breaths paced between the hurried steps, I sucked in a fistful of humid air. Unable to bear the sun, I lamented miserably: “Ughh, can’t the sun disappear.” I could feel the tip of my tongue get drier each time I sullied it with more laments.”
The former is telling, while the latter is showing. Showing allows readers to see a vivid picture of what is going on in the story. Readers derive pleasure from drawing conclusions and interpreting hidden meanings, which may involve deciphering subtext, understanding motivations and emotions, and discovering significance. When authors provide these insights upfront, a reader can’t uncover these pleasures, depriving them of the fulfillment of engaging in an activity that brings them joy. If you aim to captivate the reader's attention and loyalty, you need to make an effort to give them something they can analyze and interpret. This encourages them to read between the lines, similar to how they would when having an experience.
Tips like using metaphors, avoiding the use of adjectives, and avoiding words that express emotion are helpful starting points. That being said, these pointers fail to capture the core concept of the phrase, which is to remove the author's presence from the story. The ultimate goal is to trust in the readers' ability to comprehend the plot and the author's ability to convey it effectively without relying on blatant exposition or characters' thoughts.
While "show, don't tell" is a valuable guideline for inexperienced writers, it has been misused in ways that prevent users from fully grasping its significance. Although it contains valuable wisdom, it is often given without any explanation, leaving the recipient clueless. For instance, a lot of writers tend to fall into hyper-detailing. That means focusing on descriptions that are not significant and are thus boring for the reader.
Consider the examples again:
“It was so hot that I didn’t want to go to school.”
“On a sweltering June day, I jumped into my car and journeyed to class. Sitting on my sun-baked leather seat, I felt the burn of the day's heat. As I progressed, the convenience store I sighted along the road beckoned me to skip school.”
While the original sentence effectively conveyed the idea of being averse to attending school, its showing of the details of the car route and scenery diverts the reader's attention from the central idea of the story. Additionally, it slows down the pace of the narrative and obfuscates the key points, making it challenging for the reader to connect the dots. If the story is centered on events that occurred at school and the character's hesitancy, is it necessary to include numerous descriptions of locations and objects en route?
Another sign of bad showing is through generic expressions and dead metaphors. George Orwell once authored an essay concerning the writing on the English language. He asserted, “Modern writing at its worst does not consist in picking out words for the sake of their meaning and inventing images in order to make the meaning clearer. It consists in gumming together long strips of words which have already been set in order by someone else, and making the results presentable by sheer humbug.” Although the harsh language he utilized to describe the trend is debatable, the general idea of reusing exhausted phrases remains relevant to present times. Writers continue to repeat generic expressions rather than being original and innovative, resulting in a lack of uniqueness and ingenuity in their work.
Things like “Beads of sweat roll from my forehead” or “the sun radiates its heat.” These metaphors that are so frequently used in society have become everyday sayings. As a result, while they were originally intended to convey a deeper meaning, they are now simply regarded as common expressions.
Showing is an important skill. But it is equally important to know what is a good “showing”. Showing can let you see settings, characters’ development, or personalities. Loveable characters and an engaging world can be beneficial for writing. In such instances, using "telling" might work to your benefit. However, there might still be room for improvement. Taking one additional draft and concentrating on " Showing" rather than "telling" can enhance your novel. Doing so could make your work unforgettable.
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