Show, don't tell

Show, do not tell (German: "Show, do not tell " ) is a commonly used term in the context of writing guidebooks. It calls on authors to not describe a specific object from the standpoint of the narrator, but to use action and dialogue. This is the reader who is accustomed to cinematic narrative structures the interest be kept alive. The role of the narrator is pushed into the background - a typical call to the narrative literature of modernity. The reader should be facilitated in this way, the identification with the characters.

Examples

When an ink ballpoint on the rule show, do not tell oriented, he allegedly revealed the character of a literary character by their verbal and nonverbal actions. Literary "Show" can be done in different ways:

• By playwriting
• By describing the actions of a character
• By reproducing dialogue
• Through the use of all five senses

Rather than report ...

To show ... the author:

" She opened a small gap between the blades of the blinds so that they could see the VW, which held in the driveway. She blinked to see the muscular man better, which rose out of the car and then walked towards the front door. When he rang, Mrs. Kleinschmidt ran to the phone, Charlotte, you will not believe what I just saw! '"

Exceptions

Since showing takes up more space, can be covered with telling larger time intervals in a narrative context. Thus, scene transitions, for example, is happy to explain and not shown.