When to Show and When to Tell 

Good video. 300 subs 🎉

This is helpful. You don't want to *only* tell or *only* show; both are important and have their strengths and weaknesses. I think you explain this all very well. "Any points of character transformation or growth or decay should be shown. They shouldn't happen off-screen, they shouldn't be summed up in a sentence or two" validates a recent realization I had while going through a certain show with some buddies of mine: essentially what you said here, but less eloquently. In brief, the show conflates time passing with character development, and nearly all "transformations" (major changes in character, world, etc. - which aren't even consistent) happen off-screen. Thank you!

Great video as always!

Hi Luke. And no, I am not your father. But I just want to extend my appreciation for the content. Each video gives me another tool to use as I go through my draft. At the end of the first draft, I totally expect my later chapters to be much better than the earlier ones. 🙂 Please do keep the knowledge coming! Many thanks!

Yet another great video.

Great topic! Many times in media "show don't tell" has become an absolute phrase, when in reality one should find and strike a balance in both. There are many great examples of effective "telling" especially for exposition, one off the top of the mind would be the opening crawls in the Blade Runner films.

ooh, 3 digit number in the first day! these videos are starting to get out there

I wonder if there's a subdivision of this concept worth honing in on. Like when to show new POVs in a story and how to go about balancing them? (This is something I'm currently struggling with on my grander projects. I have some idea of who the main protagonist is, but it's not solid, and I find myself focusing a lot more on the other MCs and side characters. So I'm wondering if this is a sign that the base idea of who I want as the primary protagonist does not meet the story's needs and I should switch them out for another character who does, rework the protagonist into someone quite different and fits better as a lead character, or wait until the creativity juices flow as I continue the brainstorming/outlining process for the story and help me realize a way (or ways) for the character to connect with the main plot, if not everything. I have more questions that are related to this, but they're more to do with worldbuilding, so I'll hold off on them for now.) Of course, the general guide is to figure that out yourself based on your story's needs and such. But I'm still curious if that was something you had more extensive ideas and thoughts on.

I always get bombarded by the beta readers whenever I "tell" in my draft. But I often times just want to move into action and not spend time on telling every single thing that won't be relevant later in the story.