Do You Show, Tell, or Both?

One of the biggest problems writers have is the show vs. tell problem. The problem is that it's too easy to just tell the story, especially as we're used to thinking that we're, well, telling a story. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it does mean that there are a lot of places to slog through; this practice encourages plenty of exposition and exploring characters' thoughts and emotions, as well as adding commentary. While some of this is needed, the problem is the delivery system.

Telling It Right

Telling is when the writer takes a step back and tells the reader what is going on. This covers exposition mode, where you just outright explain the history or other details of the world. It's also used for commentary ("Grut was about to have a really bad day" or "The dark cavern wasn't that scary"); most comedy and literary writers are infamous for this, but they hardly have a monopoly on it. This is also great for summaries (reader-friendly recaps of past actions).

[This is not to be confused with a montage (a collection of short scenes used to show related actions to condense time), which is showing. The key difference is that summaries tend to recap past actions while montages condense current actions: Think of the difference between recapping every couple of chapters ("Grut didn't go through the cavern, defeat the hydra, grab the Onyx Medallion, and run across the Plain of Streaking for this") versus your training montage or getting past some minor details ("Grut snuck past the guard, walked down the hall, hit the big red button, and ran out of the building just ahead of the explosion").]

This is also where you describe what the character is feeling, either directly ("Grut felt trepidation as he approached the dark cavern"), through describing the character's physical condition ("Grut felt a knot in his stomach"), analogy ("Grut approached the cavern as if it contained a dozen vipers"), or exposition ("Grut was reminded of when he rose to speak in front the auditorium; he sighed at the now fond memory").

Minor wrinkle: Keep in mind that you can shift from showing to telling in the same sentence and it works ("Grut sighed; orks are such buttheads"). Just do whatever works for your story.

Showing the Details

Showing is when the writer describes things, be it actions, items, people, or other situations. Without belaboring the point, writers should default to showing over telling, but shouldn't rely on showing. Your personal ratio is going to depend on your personal style, with literary and comedy having more and action having less (personally, my ratio is probably close to 80/20 showing/telling, and I'm usually action/horror short stories; while I love writing action scenes, telling keeps my word counts low, allowing me to do more with less).

If we're defaulting to show over tell, there are some times when you should use telling: 

•  It works dramatically ("Sweat flowed from Grut's forehead" versus "Grut was nervous").
•  It simplifies your work, like when you need to do a lot of exposition.
•  You need to explore the mentality of the character(s).
•  You need to drop your word count.
•  You need to make some commentary on the situation.

Take Out The Filters

Filter words are words that put some distance between the reader and the writing; they are in a weird realm between telling and showing, so unless used with care they can throw the reader out of the story. These are words that express the five senses (for example, smell, see, hear, taste, feel, saw, look); just drop the word and say what the character is experiencing ("The fields were alive with bees" generally works better than "Grut saw that bees infested the fields"). However, these same words do have their uses, especially when you're trying to be subtle or apply foreshadowing ("Grut heard an all too familiar buzzing") so don't b afraid to use them.

The other class of filter words are those that refer to thinking (thought, noted, realized, knew, and remembered). Like sensory words, they can take the reader out of the story if used wrong but do have their uses. In essence, "Grut remembered where he had heard the buzzing" is weaker than "Grut sighed at the buzzing" (the second has more emotion than the first while the first gives us information but no other context), but "Grut noted the password" helps set up things for later.

Dialogue as Telling

Too many writers use dialogue as a way to avoid telling: Ironically, characters are literally telling others what is going on to avoid too much telling in the story. Weirder yet, this can work but it can create bigger problems ranging from stilted dialogue to monologues of exposition; both of these can take the reader out of the story, possibly literally throwing the book away in disgust. The best way around is to add context to the dialogue beyond the exposition, such as flirting, bullying, or trying to enlighten one of the characters. One of my preferred ways is to use the dialogue to explain what one character is doing while the other offers help or corrects the first; this not only furthers the plot but also helps establish the relationship between the characters and possibly advance it.

[Yeah, for those looking to avoid dialogue tags this gives them a way to replace them with "action tags" instead. However, just like dialogue tags, don't go crazy with them or you'll create a different but related group of problems.]

No Two Situations Are The Same

Let's really complicate this for a moment: There will be times when you can have the same verbiage but context shifts it from showing to telling. "Tightening muscles" is normally telling as you can't usually tell if someone's muscles are tightening; they're usually hidden underneath clothes and even when they aren't they're usually a subtle enough action that they can be easily missed; However, if the story was in first-person perspective, it becomes showing because it's something that the reader's viewpoint character would notice, either because it's happening to them or they have some way of noticing it, such as enhanced senses or careful attention to detail.

In general, if you can't sense it using your regular five senses, then it's telling; if you have the means to detect it, then it's showing. Yes, discussions on writing can get this pedantic.

No Two Characters Are The Same

Let's muddy the waters a bit. There are times when shifting the showing/telling ratio can help develop character: If you're focusing on a more cerebral character, shifting the balance more towards the telling side can develop that just as shifting it more towards the showing side can help develop a more action-oriented character. This also helps define the difference between lust and love: If two characters are in love, telling becomes your best friend (telling is more flowery, and being flowery about romantic feelings works) while showing more of what's going on works when two characters start circling each other.

[This applies to most relationships: Telling helps better establish that two characters have a distant relationship or tend to avoid direct confrontation with each other while showing their interactions can show a closer or more intense relationship.]

One other consideration is that telling can help slow things down while showing speeds them up: If you want to take more time with the scene, then describing things more and letting the prose go a little purple helps, while more action-oriented scenes should be kept as simple as possible. Don't worry about your readers too much: You need a good mix of slow and fast scenes to keep them interested in the story so switching up your balance between the two can work in your favor.

Showing and telling are different sides of the same coin: You can't tell a story without using both. Your goal as a writer should be to figure out the best balance of the two for your stories; how you use them can make drastic changes in your stories. Just like any other tool you should be more worried about how to use them the most effectively and get used to using them rather than putting one on the shelf where it will get rusty.