Show, Don't Tell: The Classic Writing Rule That Brings Persian Fiction to Life
"Show, don't tell" may be the most repeated piece of advice in the world of fiction writing — and the most misunderstood. First, let's clarify what this rule actually wants: less reporting, more experience.
The Exact Meaning
- Telling: The writer announces the result to the reader: "Ali only smiled, but inside he was angry."
- Showing: The writer places the signals and the reader constructs the result themselves: "Ali smiled. He ran his finger along the edge of the table, listened to the tick-tick-tick of the clock on the wall."
The key point: in "showing," we don't write the result; the reader discovers it. And anything the reader discovers for themselves stays with them more deeply.
Five Before/After Examples
| Telling | Showing |
|---|---|
| He was very scared. | He dropped the key twice; the second time it missed the keyhole. |
| It was a modern, stylish city. | An old man beside a gleaming trash bin was asking the baker for directions. |
| He had great respect for his father. | When his father spoke, he wouldn't lift his cup from the floor. |
| The weather was cold. | When he stepped outside, his breath hung in front of his face for a moment. |
| He was hungry. | He followed the smell of the neighbor's bread around the corner. |
Four Common Mistakes in Persian Texts
- Piled-up descriptions in succession: Three pages describing nature with no action whatsoever. The result: the reader skips. Weave description together with action.
- Emotional adverbs: "He said angrily," "She looked sadly." If the dialogue and action are right, these adverbs are superfluous.
- Premature interpretation: Right at the end of the paragraph, you explain the meaning of everything. This destroys the reader's discovery.
- Showing without selection: Writing ten irrelevant details is just confusion. Choose details that have direction: telling details, not heaps of details.
Where Is "Telling" Better?
This rule is not absolute. "Telling" is effective in these cases:
- Time jumps: "Three years passed." — no need to describe three years.
- Bridging information: Short sentences to fit a bridge between two scenes.
- Rhythm change: After the intense tension of a scene, a calm, reportorial sentence breaks the atmosphere.
The golden rule: wherever an experience is sensitive, show; wherever it's a normal transition, tell.
A Three-Step Exercise
- Take a paragraph from your text and write in the margin: what have I "announced" here?
- For each announcement, write three observable signals (physical, behavioral, environmental).
- Keep the best among them and delete the rest.
A living text is one in which the reader is a partner in its making.
"Showing" reveals itself in revision, not in writing. That is, the text must be finished before you can find the reportorial paragraphs. The patience for this work is reduced with Nevispar's book-building tool, because you receive each chapter's draft with a clear structure. Our blog is also full of exercises just like this: /blog.
