Show, Don’t Tell

When you are writing a story, your sentences can either be descriptive, detailed, and
imaginative, or they can be boring!

Take these sentences, for example.

• She was sad.

• The storm was bad.

• It was a nice day.

Are these rich with details that help you picture what’s happening? No! They are boring. They
tell what is happening when they could show it instead, which would draw the reader in.
You can provide much more detail to help the reader imagine what is happening. Imagine the
specific details of the scene so the reader can almost visualize, hear, smell, and feel that world.

Describe someone who is sad.

What do they look like? What do they sound like?





Describe a storm.

What does it sound like? What is seen? What is heard?





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Now, rewrite the following sentences, adding descriptive details about what would have been
seen, felt, smelled, heard, and/or tasted.

Paula was sad.

There was a storm.

It was a nice day.

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List some descriptive sensory words for each of the five senses:

Sight



Sound



Taste



Smell



Touch




What kind of details help people form mental images in their minds as they read?








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The words we choose when we are writing can be exciting or boring. Use the space below to
describe someone’s feelings. Some “boring” options are provided. Now you should brainstorm
and find some better choices that show a wide range of feelings:

Positive Emotions Negative Emotions

boring (telling) happy, glad sad, angry

 
exciting (showing)  
 

Let’s keep practicing!

Rewrite the “telling” sentences below to examples of “showing” by including sensory details,
precise adjectives, powerful verbs, and descriptive details.

1. The house was rundown.




2. I went bungee jumping.




3. They hurried to the hospital.




4. We walked through the haunted house.




5. The toddler threw a fit.




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