10 Ways to Show (Not Tell) in Your Writing

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Most writing advice is vague. "Show, don't tell" confuses people the most. You hear it from editors. You see it in forums. You read it in every craft book. Knowing you should do it differs from understanding how to do it.

Describing a character as "nervous" is telling. You label an emotion. You hand it to the reader like a grocery list. Describe that character wiping sweaty palms on their jeans while their knee bounces under the table. That is showing. You give the reader the evidence. You let them play detective.

Show don't tell writing respects your reader's intelligence. It creates an experience rather than a lecture.

Too Long; Didn't Read

• Show don't tell writing replaces abstract labels with concrete sensory details.
• Active verbs and precise nouns create immersion better than adjectives and adverbs.
• You don't need to show everything. Use "telling" to skip boring transitions.
• Mastering this skill requires removing "filter words" like saw, felt, and heard.
  

What Is "Show Don't Tell Writing"?

Show don't tell writing is a technique used to pull the reader into the story. It relies on action, words, thoughts, senses, and feelings rather than the author’s description.

Think of it like being a movie director. A director can't have a narrator voiceover say, "John was sad." That bores the audience. The director has to show John staring at a rainy window. He ignores his ringing phone. A half-eaten sandwich sits on the plate next to him.

Anton Chekhov, the master of the short story, famously summed this up.

Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.

Anton Chekhov

Telling speeds up the story but distances the reader. Showing slows down the story but pulls the reader closer. The trick isn't to never tell. You must know when the scene demands the spotlight.

The 10 Strategies to Master Showing

You can’t just "try harder" to show. You need particular tools. Here are ten concrete ways to strip exposition from your work. Replace it with visceral experience.

1. Use Body Language to reveal Emotion

Humans are physical creatures. We rarely stand still and announce our feelings. Our bodies betray us. When you want to show an emotion, look at what the body is doing involuntarily.

The Telling Version:

"Mark was angry."

This is efficient, but it's flat. "Angry" is an abstract concept. It lacks temperature or sound.

The Showing Version:

"Mark’s jaw tightened until the tendons popped. He stared at the wall, unblinking, snapping the pencil in his hand into two jagged splinters."

Why It Works:
The rewrite uses distinct physical reactions. A tightening jaw and a broken pencil are visual. You can hear the snap of the wood. This approach allows the reader to feel the tension in the room. According to this breakdown by Reedsy, body language is the quickest way to ground a reader in the scene without needing long paragraphs of explanation.

💡 Pro Tip

Make a list of "banned emotions" for your next chapter. Forbid yourself from using words like sad, happy, angry, or scared. You'll be forced to describe the physical symptoms of those feelings instead.

2. Engage All Five Senses (Not Just Sight)

Writers often obsess over visuals. We describe hair color, eye color, and the height of trees. But we live in a 3D world filled with smells, textures, and sounds.

The Telling Version:

"The kitchen was messy and smelled bad."

The Showing Version:

"The sink overflowed with plates specifically crusted in yesterday’s oatmeal. A sour stench of spoiled milk hung heavy in the air, mixing with the sharp tang of cat litter from the hallway."

Why It Works:
"Messy" creates no image. "Crusted oatmeal" is precise. It implies time (yesterday) and texture (crusted). Adding the smell of spoiled milk and cat litter triggers the reader's gag reflex.

You move beyond simple observation into immersion. Writers.com notes that sensory details are the bridge between the character's brain and the reader's brain. If you want to study how to describe things that aren't just visual, you might look into literary devices like synesthesia to mix your sensory metaphors.

3. Dialogue as Action (Subtext)

People rarely say exactly what they mean in real life. We hide behind sarcasm, silence, or polite lies. "Telling" in dialogue looks like characters explaining the plot to each other. "Showing" in dialogue looks like an argument about doing the dishes that is actually about a failing marriage.

The Telling Version:

"I am breaking up with you because I don't love you anymore," she said sadly.

The Showing Version:

She didn't look up from her phone. "I think you should take the job in London."
"But that's a three-year contract," he said.
"I know," she replied. "It's a great opportunity."

Why It Works:
The second version hurts more. She pushes him away without explicitly saying the words. The subtext living in the gap between what is said and what is meant holds the emotion.

👍 Pros

• Pros of Subtext
• Cons of Subtext Creates tension and mystery
• Can be confusing if too vague Makes characters feel intelligent
• Requires the reader to pay close attention mimicking real-world conversation
• Risk of the plot point being missed entirely

👎 Cons

4. Strong Verbs vs. Weak Adverbs

Mark Twain famously hated adverbs. He had a good reason. Adverbs are often a crutch for a weak verb. If you have to prop up a verb with an "-ly" word, you probably picked the wrong verb to begin with.

The Telling Version:

"He closed the door firmly."

The Showing Version:

"He slammed the door."

The Telling Version:

"She walked quietly across the room."

The Showing Version:

"She crept across the room." / "She glided across the room."

Why It Works:
"Slammed" contains the meaning of "closed firmly" but with more force and economy. "Crept" implies fear or stealth. "Glided" implies grace. "Walked quietly" is neutral and boring.

Focusing on verbs is a hallmark of the Hemingway style. Brevity and power take precedence over flowery description.

5. Setting as Mood (Pathetic Fallacy)

The environment should reflect the internal state of your characters or contrast it sharply for effect. Don't just describe the weather. Use the weather to show how the character feels about their world.

The Telling Version:

"It was a gloomy day, which matched how depressed Sarah felt."

The Showing Version:

"Rain smeared the bus window, turning the city street into a gray blur. The damp cold seeped through the glass, settling into Sarah’s bones."

Why It Works:
The first version treats the reader like a child by explaining the connection. The second version lets the reader feel the cold. The "gray blur" mirrors Sarah's internal numbness.

You can also flip this. If a character is devastated, show the sun shining brightly and birds singing. This highlights how out of sync they feel with the world.

6. Remove "Filter Words"

Filter words kill immersion. These words place a layer of distance between the character and the reader.
Common culprits: saw, felt, heard, noticed, realized, wondered, decided, knew.

The Telling Version (With Filters):

"She heard the floorboards creak and saw a shadow move across the wall. She felt scared."

The Showing Version (Direct Experience):

"Floorboards creaked overhead. A shadow detached itself from the bookshelf and stretched across the wall. Her breath hitched."

Why It Works:
The first version forces us to watch the character watch the scene. The second version makes us become the character. We experience the sound and the shadow directly. Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club) wrote a famous essay on this. He advises writers to "unpack" every thought verb into a physical action.

7. Precision Creates Credibility

Vague nouns are the hallmark of telling. Exact nouns are the hallmark of showing.

The Telling Version:

"He bought a bird."

The Showing Version:

"He came home with a Hyacinth Macaw that shrieked like a banshee and cost more than his car."

Why It Works:
"Bird" creates a generic clip-art image in the reader's mind. "Hyacinth Macaw" paints a distinct picture: blue, large, loud, expensive. Precision grounds the story in reality. It shows us something about the character (impulsive, reckless with money) without us having to say, "He was reckless with money."

This type of detail is vital when building a cast. If you want to learn more about building distinct characters through details, check out our guide on direct characterization.

8. Show Through Metaphor

Sometimes a literal description fails. A metaphor can reveal the nature of a thing better than a physical description can.

The Telling Version:

"The new boss was aggressive and mean."

The Showing Version:

"The new boss circled the conference table like a shark in a kiddie pool, looking for something to bite."

Why It Works:
"Aggressive" is an opinion. The shark metaphor gives us a visual of predatory behavior, danger, and a power imbalance (the kiddie pool). It implies he is too big and dangerous for the room he is in.

9. Pacing as Showing

You can show urgency or boredom through the structure of your sentences.

The Telling Version:

"The bomb was about to go off and Jack was in a hurry."

The Showing Version:

"Red wire. Blue wire. Three seconds left. His hands slick with sweat. The wire cutters slipped. Two seconds. He couldn't breathe. One second."

Why It Works:
Short, choppy fragments mimic a racing heart and a frantic mind. Long, meandering sentences with soft consonants mimic relaxation or boredom. You are showing the state of mind through the rhythm of the words.

10. The "Iceberg Theory" of Internal Monologue

Ernest Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory states that you should show the top 10% of the story. Leave the other 90% (the emotions, the backstory, the motivations) underwater. Implied but not stated.

The Telling Version:

"John missed his wife who had died ten years ago."

The Showing Version:

"John set the table for two. He poured the wine, sat down, and looked at the empty chair opposite him. The dust had started to settle on the seat cushion."

Why It Works:
The action of setting a place for a ghost speaks volumes about his grief. It shows his inability to let go. The dust on the chair shows how long this has been going on. We don't need to be told he misses her. The empty chair screams it.

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When Should You Actually Tell?

Is "telling" always bad? Absolutely not.

Showing everything would make your book unreadable. You would spend ten pages describing a character brushing their teeth.
You use telling for:

1. Transitions: "They drove to the police station." (We don't need to see every turn signal).
2. Repetitive Actions: "He spent three weeks fixing the roof."
3. Pacing: When you need to speed the story up.

Narrative summary (telling) is the mortar that holds the bricks (showing) of your scenes together.

As you work on editing your manuscript, look for scenes that drag. These are often places where you are showing mundane details that should be told. Conversely, look for scenes that feel flat. These are places where you summarized an emotional moment instead of showing it.

Common "Show Don't Tell" Pitfalls to Avoid

Even experienced writers get tripped up. Here are a few traps.

The "Look at My Research" Trap

Knowing exactly how a 17th-century musket is loaded doesn't mean you need to show every step in the middle of a battle scene. Showing too much technical detail kills the pacing.

The Adjective Pile-Up

Some writers think showing means adding more adjectives.

• Bad: "The tall, green, menacing, scary, ancient forest."
• Good: "Roots buckled the pavement, and the canopy blotted out the noon sun."

The "As You Know, Bob" Dialogue

Characters tell each other things they both already know just to show the reader information.

• "As you know, Bob, my brother, who is a doctor, is coming to town."
• Fix: Just have the brother show up with a stethoscope or mention his hospital shift.

Exercises to Practice Showing

You can't learn this just by reading about it. You have to write.

Exercise 1: The Emotion Ban
Write a 500-word scene where two characters get into an argument. You are not allowed to use the words: angry, upset, shout, yell, mean, sad, cry.

Exercise 2: The Alien Observer
Describe a common object (like a toaster or a smartphone) to someone who has never seen it before. Do not tell them what it is used for. Describe the light reflecting off the chrome. Mention the heat rising from the slots. Note the smell of burning crumbs.

Exercise 3: The Filter Hunt
Open your current work-in-progress. Search for the word "felt." Read the sentence. Can you rewrite it to remove the word "felt" and describe the sensation instead?

• Old: "He felt cold."
• New: "He shivered, teeth clattering."

Tools That Can Help

Your brain is the best tool. Some software can help you spot "telling" habits, though.

• ProWritingAid: Has a distinct "Sticky Sentences" and "Sensory" check.
• AutoCrit: Compares your fiction to bestsellers to see if you are overusing adverbs.
• Hemingway Editor: Highlights adverbs and passive voice in bright colors, shaming you into removing them.

Final Thoughts

"Show don't tell writing" acts as a tool for emotional transfer rather than a law. You want to transfer the movie playing in your head into the head of your reader with minimal interference.

Don't stress about getting it perfect in the first draft. The first draft is for telling yourself the story. The second draft is for showing it to the reader.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "show don't tell" actually mean?

It means using sensory details and actions to convey a story rather than explicitly stating facts or emotions. Instead of saying a character is scary, you describe them looming over others or speaking in a whisper that silences the room.

Can I ever use "telling" in my writing?

Yes. Telling is necessary for transitions, summarizing time passing, or moving characters from one scene to another quickly. If a detail doesn't change the plot or character development, it's usually better to tell it briefly to keep the pace moving.

How do I fix "telling" in my first draft?

Look for abstract nouns (fear, love, justice) and "thought verbs" (thought, wondered, knew). Highlight them. Then, rewrite those sentences to describe the physical evidence of those concepts. What does fear look like on the face? What does love make a person do?

Why is "show don't tell" important for readers?

It creates an immersive experience. When readers have to interpret the clues (like shaking hands implying nervousness), they become active participants in the story. This involvement makes the emotional payoff stronger than if they were simply fed the information.

Is "show don't tell" used in non-fiction?

Yes. Even in essays or business writing, "showing" with data, case studies, and exact examples persuades better than "telling" the reader a claim is true. A precise anecdote about a customer is always more powerful than a generic statement about customer service.

What are "filter words" and why should I avoid them?

Filter words are verbs like saw, heard, felt, smelled, and decided. They filter the experience through the character rather than letting the reader experience it directly. Removing them (e.g., changing "He heard the thunder" to "Thunder rattled the window") makes the writing more immediate.

META_DESCRIPTION: Want to master show don't tell writing? Fix weak prose, engage readers, and build immersive scenes with these 10 actionable tips and examples.