Telling, Not Showing
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acceptable—even preferable—to tell a story rather than to show it.
Many of the great books of the 18th and 19th centuries used telling as
their default mode, as do many philosophical and satirical novels.
z In most conventional narratives, where much of the story is shown or
evoked, there are also long passages in which the writer or narrator
simply addresses the readers, telling them what they need to know. Just
as a composer might vary the tempo of a piece of music to maintain
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intensely evocative scenes, passages of pure exposition, and scenes that
combine the two.
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even an entire chapter early in the narrative known as the LQIRGXPS,
whereby the author takes a few pages to simply explain the world of
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popular novels also have passages in which the author simply tells
readers about the action or the characters.
z Another excellent example of a careful balance between telling and
showing is Irène Némirovsky’s 6XLWH )UDQoDLVH, a novel about the
Nazi occupation of France during World War II. The book effectively
combines exquisitely evocative passages with straightforward
expository descriptions, making a point to present characters only as
vividly as the reader needs to see them to advance the story.
Burroway, :ULWLQJ)LFWLRQ.
Gardner, 7KH$UWRI)LFWLRQ.
King, ¶6DOHP¶V/RW.
Némirovsky, 6XLWH)UDQoDLVH.
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