The most frequently given piece of writing advice is to show, not tell. You may even have heard this in other contexts because it is so widely used. In short, the essence of the ‘rule’ is to convey information actively and interestingly instead of stating facts to the reader. It is to encourage the writer to disguise the information they are feeding the reader.
To call it a rule is a misuse of the term as it implies that there are no points within a story where telling may be the better option. Writing, in its most basic definition is telling a story. You can hide this behind interesting characters and an engaging plot but it is still telling a story.
However, like any rule or advice that you are given, it is important to understand its importance before following it or breaking it. The rule, to my understanding, is to push you, as a writer, to make use of your whole writing toolbox.
Contents:
Characterisation
Setting
Where it Doesn’t Work
Conclusion
Characterisation:
The best way to avoid telling the reader about your characters is to make efficient use of your dialogue and reactions to the characters around them. Interacting through speech and body language is our key method of communicating.
In real life, when you talk to a friend or stranger, you absorb information from their manner of speaking, the language they use and their body language. You should include these things in your story to take the weight off your exposition.
Body language adds a second layer to your dialogue and reinforces what the character is saying. You use body language to gauge someone’s reaction authentically whereas dialogue is more easily used to veil their thoughts. If you want your readers to know when a character is lying, add in body language that doesn’t match what they say.
Internal thoughts are another useful tool. Not every novel includes these, and there are various ways of integrating them. They are a great way to show the point-of-view character in their raw and unfiltered form. Contrasting the thoughts with the exposition can help identify an unreliable narrator.
For physical descriptions; likes, dislikes, and important misconceptions; simply add them subtly. A simple example for a tall character is to have them bump their head off a few doorframes. This immediately shows the reader that the character is above the average height. Put your characters in situations where important physical attributes become relevant or are particularly noticeable. This feels more natural to the reader.
Setting:
Describing the setting is much like describing the character, you can use the character’s reactions to world build. Disguise your exposition through your characters and what they notice in a given setting. However, here you often have to set the scene quickly and this is where a concise description is important. Showing doesn’t have to be ten times longer than telling if you use the right words.
Cut down on the broadly descriptive words such as big, dry, and fast. Instead use more specific and descriptive words, invoking a more concrete picture in the reader’s mind, such as vast, arid and swift. The second set of words could be used to describe a jet flying low across a desert but the first is so vague that they could be anywhere.
Where it Doesn’t Work:
Some of the places where this so-called ‘rule’ breaks apart are in fight scenes, where the setting needs to be described quickly. It slows the pace down to show what is happening. Telling in this case is factual, brief and efficient at propelling the reader to the parts that matter.
Showing often feels heavily laden as there is so much to unpack and without a break, the reader could tire quickly of long sentences that are trying to show what a few words could tell.
Some genres generally have more action sequences and fast-paced plots. This often means that the author will include more telling than usual.
Conclusion:
Novels are inherently a ‘telling,’ medium by their nature so this rule should be taken with a cup of salt, just like every other piece of writing advice. When you come across rules like these, take the time to research why they have been repeated so often and the reasoning behind them. There almost always is a message behind it and you will learn something either way. However, I would advise you to try out this rule and reduce the number of times you are telling the reader. Instead, engage them more by veiling the story through the lens of the point of view characters.