The art of showing and not just telling.

Much has been said about what good storytelling is, the best formula to tell a story.

This depends on the setting, the characters, the narrative and the world.

And okay, let's say you have a great story, a spectacular world and it's told with detailed descriptions, but still something is missing. Because although you know the world you created by heart, you can't make it tangible and feel real.

Why? It may be because you say more than you show.

Describing and telling what happens is a very good thing, but doing it too much can make the story feel slow. That is why it is sometimes better to describe what happens through the actions of the characters.

For example, let's say your story takes place in a futuristic world in space. How is the world? How did civilization advance? Are there robots and advanced technology? How does it help society?... Or how does it make it miserable? If you want a techno-apocalyptic dystopia.

Let's say you want to describe a ship:

"the ship was huge, very noisy and full of people"

It's very vague isn't it? So what about? :

"The ship was the size of three buildings put together, covered in huge reinforced metal plateas that were as bright as light and huge hatches through which a space dinosaur entered. It had thrusters as loud as an earthquake that could be heard a kilometer away, product of the newest alien technologies (...)"

Too much right? It's not that it's bad to define the look of an object or living being, but saturating too much can make it hard to remember or even read.

It's best to stabilize in the middle of those two while adding character intervention. You can show how he bumps into the crew, how he gets motion sickness or becomes fascinated by the sight of space.

Star wars is a great example.

The same goes for landscapes and worlds, which are in most fantasy works. Obviously there must be more planets and countries, social hierarchies, inhabitants and lifestyles that are different from ours.

For example, does showing hospitality to some alien on an unknown planet offer something to the character or is it hostile? How do the protagonist emerge oxygen levels and missing earth elements? Does it make him weaker or is there some mineral that makes him much stronger? How does he take advantage of it? Giving eccentric features to the planets will make them more memorable.

And what if you want to define a person's personality? :

Instead of saying:

"The alien was very hostile"

You can say:

"He would walk away every time someone tried to touch him and growl when he saw an unknown thing"

Because of This we can understand that it is not a friendly creature. And showing through dialogs can be even more interesting:

- You can not do that! – Shout N. 1.

– I don't care what you think, are you going to cry? – N. 2 clicked his tongue and ignored him, annoyed.

This is a good way to show a hostile and sarcastic character.

Showing through dialogue and interaction with the environment is a good way to make the narrative dynamic, or even make it funnier. And it gives a better idea of ​​how things happen than if they are just told.

I hope it works in your stories.