Hey there, aspiring novelists! So you've got your plot outlined and characters created, but now comes the tricky part: actually writing your scenes in a way that brings your story to life. Today we're discussing the seven core tools that will transform your writing from flat to fabulous – five for showing and two for telling. Think of these as your writer's toolkit for creating a vibrant, engaging novel that readers can't put down.
Hey there, aspiring novelists! So you've got your plot outlined and characters created, but now comes the tricky part: actually writing your scenes in a way that brings your story to life. Today we're discussing the seven core tools that will transform your writing from flat to fabulous – five for showing and two for telling. Think of these as your writer's toolkit for creating a vibrant, engaging novel that readers can't put down.
Before we jump into our toolkit, let's get clear on what showing and telling actually mean. You've probably heard the writing advice "show, don't tell" about a million times. But here's the truth: both techniques have their place in good writing.
Showing expands details across the page and lets readers experience the scene alongside your characters. It's immersive and vivid. As Jerome Sterns notes in "Making Shapely Fiction," showing "renders sensation in detail" and takes up considerable space on the page.
Telling summarizes information concisely. It's efficient and helps move the story along when every detail doesn't need to be expanded. While showing fills pages with intimate details, telling condenses and transitions between those important moments.
Now let's unpack your seven essential tools!
Action is the most fundamental element of showing. It's not just car chases and fight scenes – it's everything your characters physically do, from sipping coffee to climbing mountains.
Action serves as one of the "wheels that carry a story forward," creating momentum and bringing scenes to life. Even small actions can reveal character traits and emotions without stating them directly.
Example:
Instead of: "Mark was nervous about the interview."
Try: "Mark's leg bounced under the table as he repeatedly straightened his already-perfect tie, checking his watch every thirty seconds."
Tips for Writing Better Action:
Use strong, specific verbs (sprinted vs. ran, slammed vs. closed)
Focus on character goals to make action meaningful
Incorporate action beats during dialogue to avoid "talking heads"
Vary your sentence lengths – shorter sentences speed up pace
Remember that action doesn't need to be dramatic to be effective. A character absently stirring their coffee while contemplating a difficult decision can be just as powerful as a chase scene.
Dialogue brings your characters to life by letting them speak for themselves. It serves multiple functions: revealing personality, advancing plot, creating conflict, and building relationships between characters.
Good dialogue isn't just about what characters say – it's about how they say it, what they don't say, and what they're doing while speaking.
Example:
Instead of: "Jane told Bob she was angry about his decision."
Try: "Jane slammed the folder onto his desk. 'Three years of work, and you decide to scrap the project without even consulting me?'"
Tips for Effective Dialogue:
Give each character a distinct voice and speech pattern
Avoid info-dumping through dialogue
Cut unnecessary small talk unless it serves characterization
Mix dialogue with action beats to create rhythm
Remember, real people rarely speak in perfectly constructed sentences or directly state what they're thinking. Good dialogue captures the messy, interrupted nature of real conversation.
Interior emotion shows readers what your character is feeling physically and emotionally. This tool helps create empathy by letting readers experience the character's inner sensations.
Example:
Instead of: "Sarah was heartbroken."
Try: "Sarah's chest tightened until she could barely breathe. The familiar sting of tears threatened, but she swallowed hard, determined not to shatter in front of him."
Tips for Writing Interior Emotion:
Focus on physical sensations (racing heart, tight throat, clenched fists)
Use relatable comparisons
Don't over-explain the emotion – trust readers to understand
Balance interior emotion with external actions
Interior emotion works best when it's grounded in specific physical sensations rather than abstract statements of feeling.
Interior monologue shows your character's thoughts and mental processes. It reveals what they're thinking but not saying aloud, creating intimacy between reader and character.
Interior monologue can range from structured rational thoughts to fragmented impressions approaching stream of consciousness. It's a powerful window into your character's mind.
Example:
Instead of: "John considered his options carefully."
Try: "I could call her now, but what would I even say? Sorry doesn't cut it, not after what happened. Maybe if I give her time... but how much time is enough for something like this?"
Tips for Writing Interior Monologue:
Keep it authentic to the character's vocabulary and thought patterns
Use it strategically – not for every passing thought
Consider whether to use italics, quotation marks, or plain text
Remember that thoughts, like dialogue, should reveal character
Interior monologue works especially well when it contrasts with what the character is saying or doing externally, revealing their true feelings or intentions.
Description creates the sensory experience of your story world. Effective description isn't just about what things look like – it engages all five senses and filters the world through your viewpoint character's perspective.
Example:
Instead of: "The cabin was old and dirty."
Try: "The cabin reeked of mildew and forgotten dreams. Dust motes danced in the single shaft of light cutting through the grimy window, illuminating the claw marks scoring the inside of the door."
Tips for Writing Description:
Focus on significant details that create mood or advance story
Use sensory language beyond just visual details
Filter description through your character's mood and experience
Avoid long descriptive passages that halt the narrative flow
Remember that description isn't just about setting – it includes characters, objects, weather, and anything else that creates your story world.
Flashbacks provide crucial backstory or context by showing past events. They help readers understand character motivation and provide essential background without lengthy explanation.
Example:
"As Mark stared at the familiar handwriting, twenty years fell away. He was ten again, watching his father pack a single suitcase, promising to return. The same empty promises scrawled in birthday cards that arrived months late, if at all."
Tips for Effective Flashbacks:
Keep them brief and purposeful
Signal clearly when entering and exiting a flashback
Use flashbacks sparingly – only when the past directly impacts the present
Maintain the emotional thread between past and present
Flashbacks work best when they're triggered naturally by something in the present story – a sight, sound, smell, or conversation that connects to the past.
Narrative summary compresses time and information. It's perfect for covering periods when nothing significant happens, providing background information, or transitioning between scenes.
As search result notes, "telling has an important place in narrative and academic writing because it is concise." It helps transition readers between significant portions of showing.
Example:
Instead of showing every moment of a character's workday:
"The next three hours passed in a blur of meetings and spreadsheets. By lunchtime, Mike had fielded seventeen customer complaints, fixed the broken copier twice, and somehow managed not to strangle Dave from Accounting."
Tips for Effective Narrative Summary:
Use strong, specific language even when summarizing
Include a telling detail or two that characterizes the period
Keep summaries relatively short – they're bridges, not destinations
Use summary for routine events that don't need full scenes
Narrative summary helps control your story's pace by compressing less important periods and expanding significant moments into full scenes.
The secret to great writing isn't showing everything – it's knowing when to show and when to tell. As noted in the search results, "every great writer does considerable telling along with showing".
Show when:
A moment is emotionally significant
You want readers to experience something firsthand
Character relationships are developing
Major plot points are unfolding
Tell when:
You need to cover large time periods quickly
Information is necessary but not dramatically interesting
You're transitioning between important scenes
Repetitive actions would bore the reader
The magic happens when you blend these seven tools smoothly. Let's look at a brief example using multiple techniques:
Jake's fingers drummed against the steering wheel as he watched Sandra's house (action). Three hours and no movement. His back ached, and hunger gnawed at his stomach, but he couldn't leave now (interior emotion).
She has to come out eventually. Unless she spotted me? No, I was careful this time (interior monologue).
The neighborhood had transformed since he last visited (narrative summary). Clean streets, new playground equipment, families actually using their front yards. Not like twenty years ago, when you couldn't walk these blocks without checking over your shoulder every few steps (flashback).
His cell phone vibrated. "Yeah?" (dialogue)
"Jake, weve got a problem. Carlos's voice crackled through the speaker. "She's not coming home tonight. My source says she's staying at her sister's place."
Jake slammed his palm against the dashboard, sending a shock of pain up his arm (action). "You're telling me now? After I've been sitting here all day?"
Outside, porch lights flickered on one by one, golden squares glowing in the deepening twilight (description).
See how these tools work together? Each serves a purpose in creating a complete scene that engages readers on multiple levels.
As a beginner writer, the best way to master these tools is through deliberate practice:
Try writing the same scene using different combinations of tools
Take a scene from a favorite book and identify which tools the author uses
Practice converting "telling" sentences into "showing" paragraphs
Challenge yourself to write using only dialogue and action, then add the other tools
Remember, these seven tools aren't rules – they're options in your creative toolkit. The more comfortable you become with each one, the more naturally you'll blend them to create your unique storytelling voice.
So go ahead – open that work in progress and see how these seven core tools can transform your storytelling from telling readers about your story to showing them a world they can step right into.
