Lemme tell YA

A fellow writer on Reddit’s r/writing forum asked, “Are there any alternative to the “show, don’t tell” method”. Leaving aside the wrong form of the verb “be” and and the lack of a question mark, I got to the heart of the matter. Here’s my reply:

Yes. There's a reason the craft of fiction is called storyTELLING and that's because, if you "tell" it well, readers love it.

Let's look at the opening of The Hobbit:

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

Some might try to argue that was "showing" because it had vivid description in it. But look closer-- not one single thing here is actually SHOWING us Bilbo's actual home. We are TOLD it exists, and that he lives there; we are TOLD it's not a gross hole or a bleak hole; we are TOLD once again that it's a hobbit hole, and we're TOLD what that means.

Go forth and tell likewise, whenever appropriate. Today's sin is showing...and showing... and shoooowwwingggg way too much, when it could have just been told.