| name | show-vs-tell |
| description | Load when WriterAgent is drafting a high-emotional-tension scene or when reviewing a draft suspected of stating feelings directly. Use to convert "tell" conclusions to "show" through behavior, dialogue, body language. Skip for intentional summary, background exposition, or rapid pacing transitions. |
Show vs Tell
Use this skill to decide when the reader should experience a feeling and when the narration should move quickly.
Show
Show through observable pressure:
- Behavior: what the character does instead of what they claim.
- Dialogue: what they avoid saying, repeat, or say too late.
- Body language: breath, stillness, movement, interruption, misdirected attention.
- Sensory focus: what the character notices under stress.
Use show for high-emotional-tension moments, reversals, betrayals, confessions, choices, and scenes where the reader needs to infer the truth.
Tell
Tell when compression is the point:
- Background exposition.
- Time jumps.
- Low-stakes transitions.
- Information the reader needs but should not linger inside.
Conversion Pattern
Replace a conclusion with evidence.
- Telling: "He was angry and left."
- Showing: "He pushed the chair back so hard it struck the wall, then walked out without looking at her."
Balance
Do not show everything. A scene made only of evidence can become slow or coy. Use telling to bridge, show to land.
