Do you really need to show that?

Is it possible to have too much “show” and not enough “tell” in your novel?

First, a quick reminder of the terms:

Showing is when you have an entire scene, complete with action, outer dialogue, and, most of the time, inner dialogue. We see what is happening in real time as it happens and are shown how the protagonist responds — a shiver at a hand on the small of her back, bile rising up in his throat as he looks at a corpse.

Telling is being told what happened in a particular scene, usually in the voice and through the point of view of the protagonist. There is rarely dialogue and any action is seen through the eyes of the protagonist. We understand what is important to them by what they relate to the reader. Instead of that shiver in the previous paragraph, we would be told that the heat of his hand made her feel good or he was disgusted at the sight of the dead body.

But how do you know which you should use?

The common wisdom is to only show common, ordinary actions if they have some significance or if they show something about the character. If we need to know how someone feels about a situation, then it’s best to show the reader rather than tell them. Doing so brings the reader into the story, making them feel a part of the action.