You’ve Heard It All Before: ‘Show, Don’t Tell’
Whether you’re writing a screenplay or a novel, visual storytelling is your secret weapon. Why? Because readers and viewers don’t connect with lists of facts. They connect with images, action and emotion.
But how do we write these three things? Well, I’m putting them under the microscope in this blog post with 5 top tips to concentrate on. Ready? Let’s go!
Let’s explore how to write visually and bring your scenes – and your characters – to life.
1) Think: Scene Description = Scene Action
In screenplays, scene description *is* what we see on screen. In a visual medium, what you see is what you get! This means character behaviour is everything.
In novels, it’s the reader’s thoughts and feelings as well as their behaviour. However, that doesn’t mean your novel should necessarily be a stream of consciousness. Psychology and behaviour should be balanced.
Either way, your writing should be active, not static … and ultimately, VISUAL!
- Bad: The living room is messy AF.
- Better: Pizza boxes overflow all over the coffee table. A lone sock clings to the ceiling fan.
This small shift makes your world feel real, vivid, and immediate. Doris Lessing talked of ‘word pictures’ in her novels, which I think is a great way of describing it.
So: think in pictures, NOT summaries!
2) Nail Your Opening Image
Your opening sets the tone, whether it’s the first frame of your screenplay or the first sentence of your novel. It tells us:
- What kind of world we’re in
- Who the characters are
- What kind of story we’re about to experience
Instead of opening with backstory or “info-dumping,” start with action or a striking image. Consider:
- A man sprinting barefoot across a frozen lake
- A woman polishing a gun while singing to her cat
- Or a child playing sedately while the adults behind them fall to the ground, convulsing
These visuals instantly provoke questions … and that’s what hooks an audience or reader! MORE: How To Write Great Openers That Grab The Reader
3) Characters Are What They *Do*
Yes, yes it’s an old-fashioned writing adage but it’s TRUE. Too many stories fall down the rabbit hole of thoughts and feelings and forget about character behaviour.
So, forget the yawnsome intros. We don’t need to be told your character is ‘smart,’ ‘sad,’ or ‘sassy.’ SHOW us instead.
- For screenplays: CLARA (30s) traipses inside in full hiking gear, dragging a broken sled behind her.
- For novels: Clara didn’t knock. She kicked the door open with a snow-caked boot, ice fragments melting on her shoulders.
Action, setting, and character behaviour tell us more than any personality label ever could.
4) Avoid Lazy, Reductive Descriptions
This is especially for female characters, but true for *everyone* … stop leading with looks!!!
- Bad: JENNY, 25, beautiful but doesn’t know it. (ACK!)
- Better: Jenny adjusts the strap of her stained apron, fingers blistered from a double shift.
As actor Amber Heard once said, the word ‘enigmatic’ often means, ‘Her backstory doesn’t matter.’ So, let’s NOT do that either!
Whether you’re writing screenplays or prose fiction, characters are most compelling when we understand who they are through what they do and how they move through the world … NOT through how attractive they are. (By the way, that doesn’t mean talking about how unattractive they are either. Eesh).
5) Make the Reader SEE It!
Whether your audience is an agent, or a producer, filmmaker, publisher, or reader, your job is to make them *see* what you’re writing. If you’re stuck, ask:
- Could this scene be drawn as a storyboard?
- What’s the dominant image here?
- Would this make a script reader or book editor lean in, or skip ahead?
If you can’t answer these questions, that’s a big red flag!
Lastly: remember, visual writing isn’t about camera angles or describing every little thing. It’s about clarity, energy, and emotional impact. You’re not just telling a story … you’re building a *world we can feel*.
