I want to briefly speak about one of the most famous writing rules of all time. You hear teachers tells their students this. You see aspiring writers telling other aspiring writers that they need to follow this rule or no one will read their work:
Show Don’t Tell.
While I understand the reasoning behind this rule, I just can’t agree with it.
Why?
Because I’m a working writer and an active reader and the truth is that, while this is a nice rule of thumb, it isn’t an unbreakable one. In fact, if you followed this rule all the time, I think it would render your story unreadable. Some of the examples I’ve seen used by others to demonstrate the concept to unsuspecting newbies were so strained they made my eyes roll.
To my mind, writing a story is closer to Show and Tell.
You show a little, you tell a little. You show a little more, you tell a little more.
In all honesty, I think that the Show Don’t Tell rule ruins more aspiring writers than it helps. Too many of them take it far too literally.
So here’s what I’m going to say about it—and I will undoubtedly get flack for saying this:
Ignore the rule.
Yes, I give you permission to never worry about showing versus telling again. Pick up any book and you’ll see plenty of “telling.” Because we are, after all, telling a story. You’ll see a lot of showing as well.
The trick is to find a balance. And a good way to learn what the proper balance is, is to read widely and see how other authors balance their prose. Then to do a hell of a lot of writing until you find the proper balance that works for you.
You’ll know it when readers start reacting favorably to your work.
So banish Show Don’t Tell from your mind and think instead about Show and Tell.
It’ll change your life.