Everyone quotes the Russian playwright and short-story writer, Doctor Anton Chekhov. “Medicine is my lawful wife” he once said, “and literature is my mistress.” But perhaps his most famous quote for writers is: “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

So, what’s the big deal with show, don’t tell? Longtime writer, reader, and cheese enthusiast, Bella Rose Emmorey gets it right when she says, “Learning how to show, don’t tell is one of the most difficult—and important—parts of writing. But the online world of advice in this department is still more confusing than it is helpful. When you start writing a book, it’s as if everyone around you becomes the expert. How do you know what advice to take…?”

Good question, Bella, and let’s face it, I don’t have the answer. I’ve only published two novels, far more short stories. I’m not an expert. That said, like many writers, I am rather good at doing “research” for my writing (read: diving down endless rabbit holes on the web). So, what happens when you research “show, don’t tell”? Well, let me tell you (ha-ha) you get seventy zillion hits in six seconds. Dear Author, I kid thee not.

Before I share some of the tasty fruits of my online research, let me share some thoughts on WHY showing is vital in creating good writing.

It has to do with the way our brains are wired. Our brains contain neurons, specialized nerve cells that transmit information to other brain cells and all through the nervous system. The nerve cells in our brains specifically concerned with show, don’t tell are called mirror neurons.

Monkey see, monkey do

Lowry Pei, Professor of English at Simmons College, in Boston, can explain what mirror neurons do much better than I can. “Mirror neurons are almost literally a case of ‘monkey see, monkey do,’ except the ‘doing’ is an unconscious, interior virtual event,” Professor Pei says. “What I see another person do, I inwardly ‘enact’ via this part of my brain, without being aware that I’m doing so. To quote one of the discoverers, Vittorio Gallese: ‘The same neural circuits involved in action control and in the first person experience of emotions and sensations are also active when witnessing the same actions, emotions and sensations of others.’ In short, the human brain is wired in such a way that it enables me to be, within myself, the person I am interacting with.”

Professor Pei continues, “Mirror neurons don’t use or need language; they convey knowledge through the body. They don’t explain, they put on a show in an unconscious, virtual mind-theater, one in which we play the lead role as someone else. They are all about ‘show don’t tell.’ It makes sense, then, that when I’m trying to give my reader an experience of a character from the inside, I can’t get it done by having the narrator stand off from the character and analyze her motivations [TELL]; I need to plunge the reader into her life in the body [SHOW].”

So, that’s it in a nutshell. Mirror neurons are the key to our readers’ ability to sense what our character is feeling because they simulate what it is like to be that character. In other words, if we show a reader what our character is feeling, the reader is likely to feel the same thing, all thanks to the mirror neurons in their brain. That’s why when showing is done well, readers engage with our writing. They can truly connect with our characters and that makes them want to read more, more, more of our writing. Cue: Andrea True Connection!

Enough with the telling, on with the show!

Let’s practice what the writing experts preach. This is but a teensy selection—only six— of the seventy zillion terrific resources I’ve found online. Pick and choose the one(s) you like.

Show Don’t Tell: Finally Getting it Right + Examples
https://self-publishingschool.com/show-dont-tell-writing/

Show, don’t tell writing packet
https://unionacademy.instructure.com/files/57781/download?download_frd=1

Show, don’t tell notes | pdf | cognitive science
https://es.scribd.com/document/630539005/Show-Don-t-Tell-Notes

Show, don’t tell
http://mrscarll.weebly.com/uploads/7/9/8/4/7984859/_show_dont_tell.pdf

Writing Prompt: A Show, Don’t Tell Game
https://thewritepractice.com/show-dont-tell-game/

Show Don’t Tell Worksheets
https://15worksheets.com/worksheet-category/show-dont-tell/

Featured image by Sara R. Turnquist, a coffee lovin’, word slinging, clean Historical Romance author whose superpower is converting caffeine into novels.