- "Show, don't tell": This enables the reader to experience the story implicitly through actions and feelings, and not explicitly through the author's summarizations. The goal is not to drown the reader in heavy-handed adjectives, but rather to allow readers to interpret significant details themselves.
- Telling may be used as a shortcut, since showing requires more words. Telling may cover a greater span of time more concisely.
- "Sometimes a writer tells as a shortcut, to move quickly to the meaty part of the story or scene. Showing is essentially about making scenes vivid. If you try to do it constantly, the parts that are supposed to stand out won't, and your readers will get exhausted." (James Scott Bell)
- "The warning against telling leads to a confusion that causes novice writers to think that everything should be acted out ... when in fact the responsibility of showing should be assumed by the energetic and specific use of language." (Francine Prose)