Show Not Tell

'Show, Not Tell' is that area of writing that deals with the vivid description and feeling the writer uses in creating setting, characters, and action. Show, Not Tell helps students write so that they are able to create a picture in the reader's mind, to get away from the repetition of such empty words as weird, really neat, beautiful, wonderful, and b-o-r-i-n-g.

Examples:

Telling: The girls were excited.

Showing: Giggles and screams filled the netball court. Their soft curls were now damp with perspiration and anticipation of the event. They held tight to each other in a mock effort to contain themselves. Arms flailed upward, and voices echoed in varying tones. The moment was here.

Telling: The room was vacant.

Showing: The door opened with a resounding echo that seemed to fill the house. Cob webs once attached flowed freely in the air as the open door brought light to a well worn floor. The light gave fell across the peeling paint on the walls and gave notice to the silhouettes once covered by pictures. The new air gave life to a stuffiness that entrapped the room. Faded and torn white sheets covered once new furniture now drowning in dust.

Accessed online 5/3/2012 @ http://www.writedesignonline.com/assignments/shownottell.html