Showing, Not Telling

It's an age-old adage in the writing world: show, don't tell. But how does a writer go about this? There are basic guidelines to follow and tricks to use regardless of genre.

1. Create action. It's easy to write, "The cook chased us down the street after we skipped out on the check," but it's much more effective to describe the diversion created to "skip out." Did your characters bolt out the door or slip away slyly before being discovered? Did the waitress yell? Did the cook brandish a knife or a shish kabob skewer? Did he threaten to make them tomorrow's lunch? Did they escape in a taxi, a delivery truck, or by hiding in another restaurant? Action creates full scenes, and in so doing, shows the reader what is happening.
2. Use active verbs. Avoid forms of be, have, etc. Not "We were racing down the street to avoid capture "As we raced down the street two steps ahead of our captors, we flipped boxes and barrels behind us to slow their pursuit."
3. Describe emotions. Not "I felt sad" or "upset" or "dispirited," etc., "but tears streaked my dirty cheeks" or "my throat tightened like a miser's fist," etc. Readers can figure out the emotion based on description and context.
4. Develop dialogue. Good banter, when used properly, almost always shows rather than tells, but be careful. Long monologues or discussions about things two characters already know falls into the "telling category."
5. Avoid flashbacks. Flashbacks are usually just exposition. Don't tell us what happened in the past, particularly in third-person, detail-oriented tracts that distract from current action. Let us know what happened in the past by exploring its effect on the present. If describing the summer two characters met, reveal it slowly, not by discussing it or telling the story to a third person, but by injecting moments and developing consequences from previous actions. Not as easy as a simple flashback, but far more rewarding.
6. Proper foreshadowing. Tease us with details that make us want to keep reading. Mention a character two shadows before we meet him. Create mystery and interest. This way, the reader will know something about said character when he finally makes an entrance, preventing you from having to "tell" us nearly as much.
7. Lead a reader. Don't simply put a scene in a reader's lap. Don't write, "We had lunch in an Italian restaurant," but rather "We entered Giuseppe's for a late-afternoon lunch, aware that heavy, manicott-stuffed shells would likely be our dinner, too." Even place names, etc., set the stage for a reader without being heavy-handed. We expect different atmospheres from restaurants named Francesca's, Don Giovanni's or Frank's Pizzeria.

Much of Showing, Not Telling comes down to trusting your reader to be able to fill in the pieces, to understand basic emotions and thoughts, and to put themselves in the story, to empathize with your characters. Think Agatha Christie when it comes to showing: the classic murder-mystery plot where the detective doesn't just tell us who the killer is, but shows us. Reveals details easily missed and creates dramatic tension. Showing is a great way to intrigue your reader, to draw her to the next page.

Remember this: showing is the best way of telling!