Bring Your Character to Life by Correctly Using Show and Tell

As an author, you must walk a narrow line between presenting skillful, competent, admirable characters—and realistically fallible human beings. It’s easy to unintentionally overemphasize one aspect or the other through a poor use of “show and tell.” The result? Readers sometimes end up getting completely the wrong idea about your character.

Allow me to demonstrate.

How Poor Show and Tell Gives Readers the Wrong Idea About Your Character

The easiest way to “sabotage” your character is by accidentally unbalancing him. You might be doing this without even realizing it.

How?

By showing readers one part of your character’s personality, while only telling them about the other side.

Naturally, the personality traits that are shown are going to feel much more alive to readers than the traits about which they’re only told. Unless you balance your description by showing both sides of the characters, readers aren’t likely to take your word for it that this character really possesses traits they haven’t seen.

A Surefire Way to Make Your Character Look Like an Idiot

For example, consider a ghastly historical mystery (which I shall refrain from naming) that featured a character who worked for an intelligence agency. While on his very first job as a secret agent, he bungles the job by allowing his emotions to get in the way. He gains almost no information and he endangers the secrecy of his mission.

This is what readers are shown about this character.

And yet the author insists on telling readers the character “had more skill than that”!

Which fact are you more likely to believe?

How to Present a Balanced Character Through Skilled Show and Tell

Now, of course, the above author’s intent was to portray a skillful character who just happened to get carried away in a moment of fallibility. She was trying to show a strong character who was realistically flawed. This is admirable.

But because she failed to start by showing readers the character’s skill, we’re left with only her word telling us he was skillful.

Here’s the big problem: an author’s assurance, by itself, is rarely enough to convince readers.

Portraying your character’s flaws is an excellent way to make a reader connect and sympathize with him. But unless your goal is to portray him as bumbling idiot (!), be sure to balance his flaws by also showing some of his successes. If he’s noted for his skill, show readers that skill before you let the character mess up. A character’s flaws will carry much more weight if readers have first seen what the character is capable of. 

Wordplayers, tell me your opinion! How have you balanced show and tell by demonstrating both your protagonist’s weaknesses and his strengths? Tell me in the comments!