One Simple Principle Will Clarify Showing For Good

Author: Sandy Vaile
Previously published by Romance Writers of Australia, Hearts Talk ezine, August 2022


There is one simple principle that lays the foundation for effortless showing in fiction. A principle from which all the other showing techniques are built and, once put into practice, triggers momentum that carries characters through the story organically.

That principle is: Put characters in motion.

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “show don’t tell”. It’s bandied around writing circles like scones at high tea, and yet it’s the concept that causes new writers the most anguish. Sure, you know what telling is but how do you blend it with showing and where does telling end and showing begin?

It’s nerve-wracking when the consequence of not figuring this out is a bland reader experience and permanently missing the mark with competition judges, agents and publishers.  
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Well, I believe there’s an easier way to approach this subject: throw out the notion of showing and telling as separate entities and focus on active storytelling. This concept is the basis for my Active Storytelling Method© and I’ve seen how well it works in getting authors to put their characters in motion, which carries readers through the story with them. 

The Concept of Active Storytelling

Active storytelling is simple because it applies to almost every part of your story:

• The situations you choose to put characters in;
• Character and plot development;
• How you reveal information (current and backstory);
• The way characters move through their environment; and
• The structure of sentences.

​Imagine that! Just one concept to enhance your storytelling and keep the story moving forwards.  
In each of the abovementioned situations, ask yourself, “How can I put my character in motion?”.

Choose Situations and Locations that Foster Engagement

When deciding what situation to put your characters in, try to put them with other people as often as possible. This forces them to interact with those characters, resulting in active storytelling like dialogue and body language.

Also, consider what the conflict will be, i.e. what they will battle against, whether it’s another person, a difficult situation or their own insecurities. When characters are trying to solve problems or overcome challenges, they inevitably make decisions and take action.

• Making decisions requires problem-solving and weighing up choices, so you can show characters actively contemplating potential outcomes.
• Taking action is self-explanatory. If a character moves towards what they want (or away from what they don’t want), readers can follow their journey with them.
• When it comes to choosing where your scenes will play out, some locations will be dictated by the plot, but always try to use places that make characters’ lives as difficult as possible.
• Physically challenging locations can push them to their limits and show how they react under pressure.
• Other locations might trigger an unpleasant memory, challenging them emotionally.

Pushing characters outside of their comfort zones inevitably leads to exposing their flaws; the traits they try to hide from others, but which surface as they struggle to overcome fears and insecurities. 

Let Characters Demonstrate Their Desires and Motivations

It is so much more powerful to let characters demonstrate who they are than to have the narrator telling readers how to feel about what’s going on.

Who your character is deep inside, what they want and why it’s important to them will be revealed naturally if you put them in motion. Think about what a character wants in a particular scene and what drives them to want it, e.g. past events that formed their beliefs and/or current events that create a need. Then come up with a situation that will show these things.

Do you see what I did there?

Instead of thinking about how to explain what they want and their motivations, the characters will be in a situation that innately shows them wanting those things and purposefully taking action to get them.

Example

• Instead of telling readers that a character needs money to pay the bills.
• Show then rifling through a pile of overdue bills and then checking their bank account, which shows a balance of $50.

 
When it comes to uncovering backstory, decide what situation would trigger the character to find information about the past or recall a memory. Don’t just have them sitting still and thinking about a random event from their past; have them in a situation or place they couldn’t possibly move through without backstory being revealed.
 
Secondary characters are fantastic for actively showing who your main character is because having multiple people in a scene,  naturally leads to conversations and interactions. Readers get to hear and see a different perspective of the main character, including things they’d rather not reveal themselves.

Secondary characters either support or hinder the main character by:

• Providing or hiding information, resources, moral support or technical expertise; and  
• Creating conflict through opposing opinions or desires. 

Have Characters Interact as They Move Through the Story

As characters move through the story world, let them:

• Explore their surroundings through touch, sight, sound and taste.
• Interact with the things around them by picking them up, sitting on them, touching them, etc.
• Interact with other people through conversations and observing what they’re doing, their facial cues and body language.

Let me show you what I mean.

Narrative – Margo entered the drab lounge room with its brown velvet couch, floral curtains and dusty furniture.

Interactive – Margo strolled into the lounge room and dusted the seat of the brown velvet couch before perching on the edge of it, so as to keep fabric contact to a minimum. She reached towards the coffee table, spotted dust-encrusted layers of crumbs and circular mug stains, and then returned her handbag to her lap. The room was dull behind heavy floral curtains and she pressed her lips tight against the dust motes lazily swirling through the air.

Can you see how in the interactive version, you get more information than simply what is in the room and what it looks like? Margo’s attitude towards the state of the room is insinuated in the way she touches things and the details she focuses on. You still know the couch is brown and the curtains are floral, but you have also experienced the textures and dilapidation of everything in it.  
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The danger of having inert characters is that authors often feel compelled to explain what readers are seeing and how they should feel about it. But when you put those same characters in motion, readers get to see what’s happening and draw their own conclusions about how they feel about it and what it means.
Being able to discover information with the character and interpret their responses, is half the fun for readers. 

The Power of Active Sentences

The power of words becomes evident when we create active sentences.

Active sentences put the action first and the person or object being acted upon, after it, i.e. the subject acts upon the verb. This composition makes sentences clear and direct, which equates to easier to read.

Example

• Passive – Tina’s homework was marked in red pen by Mrs Gleeson. [The subject/object comes before the verb/action.]
• Active – Mrs Gleeson marked Tina’s homework with a red pen. [The verb/action comes before the subject/object.]
• Passive – The burglar was tackled by the detective. [The subject/object comes before the verb/action.]
• Active – The detective tackled the burglar. [The verb/action comes before the subject/object.] 

Where to Next? 

As I’ve demonstrated, having a character doing something makes it easier for authors to deliver an interesting journey their readers can become immersed in and explore with the characters. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just put characters in motion by choosing situations and places that force them to interact and spur them into action.

Allowing readers to discover information and draw their own conclusions is far more interesting than being told what to see and feel. They get to be a part of your story world for a little while and enjoy the emotional ups and downs as the characters experience them.

Now that’s a powerful journey!

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