Show, Don't Tell: Writing Techniques

Telling uses more adjectives, while showing uses more verbs.

Telling directly states information, while showing allows readers to infer through descriptions.

Telling is used only in dialogue, while showing is used in narrative.

Telling is more detailed, while showing is more concise.

To engage the reader's imagination.

To avoid overloading the reader with excessive irrelevant details.

To create a sense of realism.

To connect readers to characters.

The house was old and creepy.

The old house creaked and groaned in the wind, its boarded-up windows rattling as the storm raged outside.

It was very hot in the desert.

The desert was vast and empty.

Metaphor

Simile

Sensory language

Personification

A comparison that describes something as something else.

A non-living thing given human qualities.

An extreme exaggeration for emphasis.

A comparison that describes something like something else.

She felt as cold as ice.

She was a frozen block of ice.

The block of ice sat on the bench, slowly melting alone.

I am as frozen solid as an iceberg--it will take climate change to thaw me out!

A comparison that describes something like something else.

An extreme exaggeration for emphasis.

A non-living thing given 'life' and human qualities.

A direct statement of fact.

The sun beat down mercilessly on the parched desert.

The old house creaked and groaned in the wind.

I am as frozen solid as an iceberg--it will take climate change to thaw me out!

Jack felt his stomach muscles tighten.

To keep writing succinct and in the appropriate word count.

To establish an 'objective', impartial, or distant perspective.

To immerse readers in the scene and create a sense of realism.

To avoid overloading the reader with excessive irrelevant details.

The man straightened his spine and adjusted his tie.

Jack sat back in his chair, feeling his muscles relax and his eyes droop with fatigue.

The house was old and creepy.

It was very hot in the desert.