show don't tell
Actions reveal, not words
Show don't tell is advice for writers: convey meaning through concrete detail, action, and dialogue rather than direct statement.
Instead of writing She was angry, show the anger: She slammed the door and didn't look back.
The principle applies beyond writing—in presentations, arguments, or persuasion, demonstration beats assertion.
- demonstrateShow or prove something
- illustrateExplain through depiction
- revealMake something visible
- evokeBring forth mentally
- visceralArising from deep instinct
sensory · in the moment · action · gesture · detail · immerse · vivid · subtext · imply · read between lines · suggest · less is more · convey · embody · dramatize · scene · moment · behavior
- writingwriting, drafting, authors, author, books
- literary devicesmetaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, alliteration
- writing challengeswriter's block, procrastination, plot holes, weak dialogue, character development
- writing tipsbrevity, conciseness, clarity, flow, drafting
- storytellingstorytelling, story, tale, narrative, narrator
- writing stylesformal, informal, minimalism, maximalism, concise
show don't tellexposition
Systematic explanatory presentation
explaining · info dump · telling · authorial intrusion · narrative summary
show don't tellhand-holding
Excessive guidance or support
lecturing · over-explaining · spell it out · tell it like it is · spelling it out
show, tell, shows, showed, shown, showing, showy, showily, showiness