Show vs. Tell

When it comes to showing and telling in spec scripts, the rule of thumb among professionals is: don't write anything you can't see on screen.

Sure, it's a smart rule. But produced scripts include lines such as these:

"[The realization] hits her like a ton of bricks."
     -- My Best Friend's Wedding (Ron Bass)

"Vivian dislikes this guy on sight."
     -- Pretty Woman (Jonathan Lawton, Stephen Metcalfe)

"Andy is taken aback at this question. Although he's friendly with them, they never invite him out to social engagements."
     -- 40 Year-Old Virgin (Judd Apatow, Steve Carell)

How can you film a realization hitting like a ton of bricks? How can we visualize, in one reaction shot, Andy's entire social history with his co-workers? How can you reconcile the abstract rule of thumb with the examples from actual scripts?

As a spec writer, you should always strive to think of unique actions and lines of dialogue that fit your story and your characters. If you hit upon the perfect showing action, everyone will understand your character better, including the script readers, the director, and the actors themselves. This is the proper value of the "show don't tell" rule.

Like all rules, however, it allows room for some exceptions, as we see in the examples above.

If you're a writer on assignment, or if you have a proven track record, or if you're a writer-director, you can do pretty much as you please.

Even if you're writing on spec, you have more leeway than you think. A little telling at the right moments can go a long way. In my opinion, telling us "John reacts, shocked" is much better than showing us a cliché action such as "John gasps." If your story is weak, however, and you start propping it up with a lot of telling, then you're in trouble.

Some instances of telling can be transformed into a sort of showing. "She gasps, the realization hitting her like a ton of bricks." "Vivian's expression clearly indicates she dislikes this guy on sight." Problem is, the extra words make the writing a little too loose. You’ll need to choose, line by line, how loose or how tight you’ll want your writing to be.
 
I recently organized a series of staged screenplay readings. To be in the presence of actual actors reading my lines was a revelation. Suddenly it seemed painfully silly to tell the actors how to do their jobs. Preparing the scripts for performance, I crossed out all the “showing” actor directions—things like eyes shifting, jaws dropping, shrugs, and so on. I can now understand how most “telling” instructions on produced scripts are ignored on set or even cut by the director and the actors.
 
You might as well delete these instructions yourself. Make it a rule to show, not tell; and make it a rule never to take a rule too strictly.

Comments

[Moviequill]

"How can you film a realization hitting like a ton of bricks?" Quite easily I think. That is the writer giving the cue to the actor because screenplays aren't just meant to be filmed, they are meant to be read first. To me, if I was an actor, I know the feeling the writer wants to convey so I'd perhaps open my eyes wide, drop my jaw and snap my head back...

[Alexis Niki]

I agree. "The realization hit her like a ton of bricks" communicates the essence to the actor. But better still would be a meaningful, visual action. Note I said MEANINGFUL. In my opinion, a telling essence is better than a showing cliché. That's why ultimately each writer has to decide for him/herself which way to go.

Alexis