Show Don't Tell!

Screenwriting Principle "Show, Don't Tell" Vital for Good #Screenwriting

When it comes to screenwriting, there are no hard and fast rules, every time someone tells you not to put something in a spec screenplay you can be sure it will be in that year's Oscar winner, but there are patterns for high-quality screenwriting that should be followed to create an engaging script that will keep your reader wanting to turn the page. One such principle is "#ShowDontTell," which is often talked about but not thoroughly explained.

We've all heard it... We say it to other writers... Every "script doctor/consultant" puts it in all their coverage, but no one explains the diversity and totality of it. "Show, Don't Tell" is so important to screenwriting because film is an audio/visual medium/art form, so if you can not hear it from a speaker or you can not see it on a screen, it should not be in your screenplay. Of course, we break this rule, but the breaks should be the exception and not the commonality. If you want to novelize how your character is feeling when they make choices, write a novel manuscript.

According to the principle, we must avoid telling our audience/readers about a character's emotions or personality through expositional dialogue or scene description. Instead, we should depict those emotions and personalities through character choices based in backstory and idiosyncratic dialogue. It is an essential principle that one should abide by as it is not one of the bendable or breakable rules in screenwriting. Well, all the rules kinda are, but this one screams "BABY SCREENWRITER" from the page when you do.

However, "Show, Don't Tell" can also be applied in a broader sense and in many other ways. It is more engaging for the audience to see characters taking action and experiencing events, rather than reading about them or hearing characters merely talking about them. It is also crucial to remember that "Show, Don't Tell" is not just about avoiding expository dialogue but also engaging the audience with a mix of data, emotion, and subtle messages (subtext).

The principle requires practiced discipline and thorough thoughtfulness in the screenwriting process. Instead of spoon-feeding our audience's/readers' plot and prose, we should trust that they are intelligent enough to infer meaning and emotions from the actions and dialogue of the characters. Let them put it all together in their mind's eye. By doing so, a deeper and more meaningful connection can be established with the theatre of the mind in our audience/reader, making them want to know more, turn the page, keep reading, and in a pie-in-the-sky world, green light the film.

Moreover, the audience/reader should be able to infer the subtextual information and character emotions from the actions (choices they make) and dialogue (not only what they say but the words they choose to use), rather than having it spelled out for them. We should let the audience bring their own life experiences or what I call "Memory Pallet" to the script, which will fill out the negative space with their imagination and create a great film in their head, that is perfect for them.

In conclusion, "Show, Don't Tell" is a principle that requires discipline, attention to detail, creative fastidiousness, and attentive craftsmanship in the screenwriting process, because that is the art of screenwriting. How to show more with less words. A Development Executive once told me, " it may be helpful for a writer to WRITE without any dialogue and see if the story is conveyed simply with the tools of visualization. The dialogue then can be inserted to support the visuals or even play subtextually "against" them. I call this the "watching a movie that is on mute while you are on the phone" approach - do you get the core of the movie simply from what you are watching?". Remember real screenwriters are re-screenwriters. Do a vomit draft where you allow yourself to write shit (on-the-nose dialogue, telling instead of showing, zero subtext, direct from the page...) then go back and fix it. You can rewrite shit, but you can not rewrite a page void of vomitous verbiage. By avoiding expository dialogue and scene description, and instead depicting the subtext of characters' emotions and personalities through their actions and dialogue, we can create a more engaging and meaningful story for our reader/audience. When we show, the audience can infer, interpret, and engage in a more meaningful way, making them want to turn the page and keep reading. Trust me. Or don't.

Much love,

Noah