While teaching the lesson on "Show Vs. Tell,” one of my students asked me a very direct and important question: “But Mr. Archer, how do you tell a story with action?” Action, or narration, is the most powerful way to tell a story. Readers enjoy having characters and plot revealed to them rather than having the writer beat them over the head with exposition (telling).
So how do I show a story with narration?
Every detail of the scene can assist you with revealing the story. The following suggestions are not necessarily a complete list, but they should give you some great ideas on how to start building your narration.
Setting
The location of the scene can set certain expectations in the reader. What sort of characters or actions would you expect to see in a church? A bar? The wilderness? Placing your characters in certain environments will create anticipation before the scene has even begun.Activity
What your characters are doing also gives us a certain view of them. Example: We have a guy who is playing tennis. We have another guy who is sitting on the couch watching television. Which character is fat? Which one loves the outdoors? Which one is wealthier? We make assumptions about a person based on what we observe them doing.Body Language
It has been estimated that 80% of all human communication is non-verbal. How a person walks, gestures and moves gives us valuable clues about their demeanor. Simply noticing how someone sits in a chair can tell us if the person is confident or timid, lazy or energetic. Use any logical opportunity to give away a character"s personality through their movement.Interactions
How characters behave toward one another will also show us not only their own personality, but also their relationship to one another. Why tell me that Jack and Audrey are lovers when you can show them flirting, kissing and practically sitting in one anothers' lap?
Turning Exposition into Narration: Examples
Expository Fact - Jacob is insecure about his looks.
Narrative Ideas - He avoids looking at his reflection in mirrors. He constantly compares himself to others in the looks department, observing how much better they look than he. He has low standards for dating and devalues himself in conversation, rarely if ever getting to a second date. He automatically assumes the worst if anyone is staring at him.
Expository Fact - Clarissa wants to have a baby.
Narrative Ideas - She oohs and ahhs over every infant she encounters. She reads Parenthood Magazine. She constantly drops verbal hints to her husband about starting a family. She is openly envious of pregnant women. When she sees babies, she touches her own lower belly in an unconscious gesture.
Expository Fact - Edward is a genius.
Narrative Ideas - He uses complex and technical language. He is constantly cultivating new interests, mastering them and getting bored very quickly. His friends rarely understand his experiments and thoughts. He is frustrated when anything goes too slowly. He is constantly solving difficult problems with unique solutions.
Expository Fact - The family is moving into a haunted house.
Narrative Ideas - At least one character has a bad feeling about the house from the start, an opinion that is probably ridiculed by the other members of the family. When family members are alone in a room, odd sounds or shadows spook them. At least one character has trouble sleeping at night due to fear, nightly disturbances or both. The weather is cold, rainy or otherwise inhospitable. Unusual stress and arguments occur between normally peaceful family members.
The Bottom Line: Being able to reveal a character's personality and plot points through action will keep your story moving. As a bonus, it gives your reader more credit for intuiting what is going on in your story. When you over-explain every little detail to your reader, it seems as if you are talking down to them.
