Show Me, Don’t Tell Me

The case for nouns over adjectives, specifics over generalities

I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.
—Lily Tomlin

Writers who apply to write for my publications often tell me all about their writing skills and passions. Thing is, what a writer thinks of themselves has zip to do with my evaluation of their abilities and whether I want to be their editor (rather, unwarranted confidence and excessive horn-tooting are big red flags). I skip over their self-evaluations and go straight to their published stories, where they will effectively show me everything I need to know about their writing skills and passions. 

This is classic show me, don’t tell me stuff. And while it’s a great principle to apply to everything we do and say in life, show me, don’t tell me is particularly important in your writing—each story, each paragraph, every sentence and right down to all the words.

Let me tell you just how important this is. Below, we’ll look at... No, wait! I just violated the show me, don’t tell me rule!

How to show readers what you mean

Data, facts, quotes, anecdotes and examples are all ways of showing readers what you wish to impart. There, that’s better. Whew!

The strategy is simple: Be specific. Avoid generalizing. And help readers visualize what you mean. Oh, and use your nouns.

Image: Pexels

One super-handy handy tactic: Compare an unfamiliar object or phenomenon with a familiar one, to illustrate how it works, or how big it is, or whatever aspect of it that you’re tempted to employ an adjective for. This is a chance to flex your similes and stretch your metaphors.

If your story (or any sentence in it) is full of adjectives and mumbo-jumbo and light on nouns, you are probably telling, not showing. Just look at the paucity of nouns in these Telling examples, compared to the abundance of nouns in the Showing examples, and note how the descriptive terms become much more informative, allowing you to visualize what the writer is conveying: