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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/31712
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Showing instead of telling has several advantages, though which apply depend on the context. I'll list several off the top of my head, based on my experiences of what showing achieves:

- You can be less repetitive, e.g. if the reader infers who spoke instead of you having to say "said X" on every line of dialogue;
- A lot of humour derives from the reader inferring what was meant;
- If I tell you a character has a trait without saying what makes that so or knowable, I've been vaguer and given you less of a picture of the story's world;
- If I tell you a character feels a certain way instead of conveying it in their behaviour and body language, I'm missing the latter's storytelling opportunity (plus imagery helps stoke the reader's imagination);
- Showing can be more economical in the sense you can show multiple facts about characters, e.g. people's reaction to a woman's entrance can prove both her beauty and their recognition of it;
- When you show you often can't help but be more inventive in the way you phrase things, which makes your writing more distinctive.

Other people will probably mention some other advantages.

Original score: 5