The Art of “Show, Don’t Tell” – Jane Austen vs. Margaret Mitchell

Can you define good writing in a few sentences?

When I was younger, I asked a few people to tell what a good writer is and they all gave me different versions of the same answer. “you have to focus on the details”, “You have create a vivid image”, “good writing is like a painting for the mind”, or “include all the senses so readers feel as though they are right there with the characters”. This worried me because I was not always good at focusing on the smaller details, and I did not always know how exactly I could do that. At some point you run out of synynyms for "brown eyes" or "strong jaw" . The advice was not wrong , per se, but it is, to say the least, a uniformed and simplified answer to my question. In the past few years I have explored how to “Show, Don’t Tell”.

There is more to writing than putting down a plot on a piece of paper. The thing that makes stories so compelling for readers is also one of the hardest skill we as writer must do. There are no check sheets or guidelines. When we seek advice, we hope for clarity but the problem is that art is often dealing with the unclear and uncertain. How can you hold that in an iron fist? So for today’s blog I wanted to talk about writing and how we can follow the “show’ don’t tell” advice? Let us begin with a definition.

What does it mean?

“Show, don't tell" is a technique used in various kinds of texts to allow the reader to experience the story through action, words, thoughts, senses, and feelings rather than through the author's exposition, summarization, and description”[i] – Wikipedia.

An example of “telling”: “Jim was angry”

An example of “showing”: “Jim slammed his fist on the table”.

Why do we use it?

The purpose of this technique is to involve the reader by giving them all the relevant details and descriptions to let them draw their own conclusions.

With the use of “showing” we are painting a picture for the reader, allowing them to interpret the situations and the characters. In the end books play with the readers’ mind and imagination, personalizing the experience and allowing them to create a personal connection to the story.

How does it work?

Imageries.

Our brain is not an organ that thinks in words. Our brain works with images and visual transformation. Think about your dreams or how you respond to words. If I say, “Tree”, your brain will immediately produce an image of a tree. Now, there are thousands of types of trees in this world and therefore the image that pops in your head might be very different from what I am thinking, e.g. you might imagine an oak tree while I am thinking about a willow tree.

In writing with use “showing” to describe the trees in a way, which makes it possible for the reader to follow the image the author has in his head. Thereby merging two imaginations to a similar (not identical) idea. This sort of writing allows reader to use their imagination and even enhance it but not dictating it.

When to use it?

As mentioned above, you have to give the relevant details. This means that the colour or shape of a tree might not always be important to mention. In some stories it is sufficient to say that the characters are taking a walk in the woods. In other stories you will clarify that the characters were walking on a dirt road between the tall, white and narrow trunks of birch trees.

How can we determine whether something is relevant?

I would suggest you look at the plot, the characters and the themes of your story. The main reason I wanted to write on this topic was exactly to point out that there is never one way to do these things, and you can adapt this tool to suit your writing.

To exemplify it we can compare two brilliant novels by two brilliant authors. In the the next section I will look at the description of Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen and the description of Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Although I am focusing on writing about people and physical features, keep in mind that the arguments I am making goes for almost everything. For the sake of brevity, I chose to focus on physical appearance to portray that “show” vs. “telling” takes different forms. Use these examples to notice what information is deemed relevant and why.

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen vs. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

The most common misconception is that “showing” is about giving as much detail as you can. It is absolutely possible - if not vital - to have good writing without a full list of details about a room and a person’s behavior. Before we continue let me just briefly reassure you that it is not necessary to have to read these works to understand my arguments but I would like to give a brief summary (without spoilers) of these two novels to understand the context:

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen:

The novel begins with the news that a new handsome gentleman with the name of Charles Bingley, who is both financially stable and single, has moved to the neighbourhood. This is exciting news because he is a potential suitor for every single woman living in that area but Mrs. Bennet believes that her eldest daughter, Jane, will certainly catch his attention. And as mothers often are, she is proven to be right.

However, the protagonist is Elizabeth Bennet, the second oldest daughter, who catches the affection of Bingley’s friend, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. He is a wealthy man but he is also arrogant and considers himself to be above the company. As the story progresses, new gossip, misunderstandings and scandals break out, leaving Elizabeth to confront her own pride and prejudices.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

The novel is about the life of Katie Scarlet O’Hara who is a vain, self-centered and often an unkind woman. The story takes place in Georgia and Atlanta during the tension of the civil war. Scarlet is not concerned about the war at all because her attention is only for the handsome and honourable Ashley Wilkes. However, it is soon revealed that Ashley is to marry Malanie Hamilton, which devastates Scarlet and - in this state she agrees to marry Charles Hamilton (Melanie's brother). The marriage, however, is brief because Charles Hamilton dies in the war, leaving Scarlet a widow and a single mother to their son.

As the war devastates the country, Scarlet learns to survive in a world that is changing from everything she ever knew. At the same time she has caught the attention of Rhett Butler who has a bad reputation for being a scoundrel and lives outside the norms of propriety, which both excites and terrifies Scarlet. As the story progresses, Scarlet continues through the hardships of her life, which never truly seem to end.

The Gentlemen

Both novels are romantic stories. Darcy is probably one of the most popular male characters in the literary romance genre. There are many characters that are inspired by him but there are also many filmatizations of Pride and Prejudice. In these films Darcy is typically portrayed as a brown eyes, dark haired gentleman, always dressed in dark colours. However, in the novel itself there are only the following descriptions:

“But his friend, Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien, and the report which was in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance, of his having ten thousand a year. The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man, the ladies declared that he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked it with great admiration for about half the evening, till mangers a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud; to be above his company, and above being pleased; […]” (Chapter 3)

“Between him [Mr. Bingley] and Darcy there was a steady friendship, inspite of great opposition of character. Bingley was endeared to Darcy by the easiness, openness and ductility of his temper, though no disposition could offer a greater contrast to his own, and though with his own he never appeared dissatisfied.” (Chapter 4)

As you can see, there is no description of his physical appearance, except that he is tall. In the second description he is said to be a contrast to Bingley, and this is worth noticing in the filmatizations too. In the movies Bingley is more often than not a blond man with blue eyes and his clothes are often in bright colours. However, in the novel there is no mention of their appearances in this way. The second description of Darcy relates to his temper and personality but in movies this is also portrayed by their physical appearances. The only description that is given about Bingley is the following:

“Mr. Bingley was good-looking and gentlemanlike; he had pleasant countenance and easy, unaffected manners.” (Chapter 3).

There is no mention of him being blond or his clothes. On the other hand, there is no doubt about Ashley Wilkes blond hair and clothes. In the Gone with the Wind he is described with many details. Let us look at his introduction here:

“She [Scarlet] had been on the front porch and he had ridden up the long avenue, dressed in gray broadcloth with a wide black cravat setting off his frilled shirt to perfection. Even now, she could recall each detail of his dress, how brightly his boots shone, the head of a Medusa in cameo on his cravat pin, the wide Panama hat that was instantly in his hand when he saw her. He had alighted and tossed his bridle reins to a pickaninny and stood looking up at her, his drowsy gray eyes wide with a smile and the sun so bright on his blond hair that it seemed like a cap of shining silver […] And his voice! She would never forget the leap of her heart as she heard it, as if for the first time, drawling, resonant, musical.” (Chapter 2)

I feel it would be redundant to use more quotes to describe Ashley because nothing new is revealed. We know everything from the gray of his eyes to the shape of the pin on his hat. His manners are not described but the rest of his character is portrayed through his view on the war and his reaction the life after the war. This is a contrast to the Austen’s introduction of Darcy. Furthermore, you will probably have noticed that Austen does not let the reader decides whether Darcy is proud or not. It is stated that he is and so it is. Or at least it is described in a manner that he - at least according to societal and cultural norms - would be deemed arrogant.

At the same I will not say that appearance is unimportant in Austen’s novel. On the contrary, Elizabeth’s physical appearance is discussed a few times. It is mentioned that she is not as beautiful as Jane, and Caroline Bingley criticizes her appearance by saying that there nothing extraordinary about her. Caroline even says that she thinks her features are too “sharp”. I would argue that the purpose of this is to portray a society’s perception of beauty. The appearance of men is less important but their financial status is mentioned frequently, which is certainly important in a society where a woman can only climb the social ladder through marriage.

As we can see above, Jane Austen wasn’t exactly generous with details, which is probably one the reasons that her books are shorter than most. Her novels are mostly told through characters, conversation and inner monologues. Nonetheless, Jane Austen’s writing has been praised for more than a century because she created a vivid portrayal of characters and the society they live in. Mitchell was definitely painting a picture for her readers. Both methods serve their purpose, though.

So, when you write, don’t worry about making it descriptive because all you have to do is to write what matters to the story. Sometimes the story calls for details and other times it ignores it. “Showing” is not about telling with more detail or gluing on adjectives. It is about the details, the actions and the moments that define or unravel the story, the plot or the characters. Good writing is not about the amount of details you put in your work. It is about the thought you put into it.

I guess, at the end of the day it is not a question about “how do we show it”, it is “what are we showing”. As writer we are picking the information that is relevant for the story. It can be to portray a character, a culture, a society or simply to enhance the plot. Nonetheless, it is not every detail that is relevant. Therefore, you do not need to paint a picture for the reader. You can simply outline it and let the reader colour it.

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References [i] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show,_don%27t_tell