Tell vs Show

Just about every “how to” book on writing says, “Show, don’t tell.” I agree except for one caveat. Sometimes you have to tell.

Here’s the difference. Let’s say you are writing a play and have a character named John who is thirsty and wants to go get a drink of water.

If you are to tell how John goes to get a drink of water, you would have a narrator say, “John went to the kitchen and poured himself a drink of water.”

If you are going to show John going to get a drink of water, the character would simply go over to the sink and poor himself a drink of water.

Particularly at the beginning of the play or story, you have to tell what is going on because your reader or audience simply doesn’t know what’s happening. You have to tell them.

You have to tell them without making feeling like you are preaching to them.

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