Show Don't Tell

In a very strange confluence of events mostly likely having to do with planet alignment and heartburn, the Wave-inatrix has read a passel of scripts lately that featured a variation of this: Drucilla’s face showed anger. Her face showed anger? Now, Wavers should be able to see what’s weird and wrong about that description immediately.

This falls under the aegis of “show don’t tell” or oddly more descriptive (though way too clumsy which is why “show don’t tell” won the stupid popularity contest) is evidence emotion rather than inventory it. The Wave-inatrix made that up. Patent pending.

Because movies are stories about things happening, if your character is angry, he or she is going to act that out - in this way things keep moving forward in the story. The husband just told the wife he was cheating and she threw an ax at him. I’m just guessing her face shows anger.

She looks excited is not great whereas Her eyes lit up like a million stars is poetic, more interesting and makes the same point. We’re writers, here, people. And within this rule of showing and not telling as we describe events in our action lines, we are charged with moving the plot forward descriptively - and well. If you find yourself being so utilitarian and lazy as to write something like: He's impatient - you really need to stop and see the missed opportunity there. Do not hurry through action lines so you can get to the good stuff - dialogue. Action lines have the capacity to be among the most entertaining parts of a good script.

But Wavers, the specific message today is to not only avoid being plainly descriptive in your action lines, to not only remember to show and not tell but to please, please for the love of God, avoid his or her face shows X emotion. Seriously, his face shows lust? Her faces shows impatience? His face shows boredom? No, no, - that would be my face shows horror and my hand shows a Seconal.

That a character’s face shows an emotion is like saying that you’re thinking with your mind. Why yes – yes you are thinking with your mind. So if you’ve got a moment in which your character is feeling something deeply; pain, humiliation, love, infatuation – don’t describe how that looks, enact how that feels through your character. Characters do not act impatient – they ARE impatient. They don’t look excited – they ARE excited.

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