Writing
Show Dont Tell Prompt Generator
A show dont tell prompt generator gives you targeted exercises to practise the craft skill every writer is told to master and few get to drill. Set how many you want (up to ten) and it returns a shuffled selection from a pool of fourteen prompts: show nervousness without the word nervous, show two people are in love without either saying it, show grief through an object the character cannot put down. Writers use these because 'show, don't tell' is easy to nod at and hard to build as an instinct. The only way to develop it is to repeatedly convert a stated feeling into action, detail, and behaviour — each prompt names a state and withholds the label, forcing you to dramatise. Pick one, write a short paragraph that makes the reader feel the state without being told, and compare it to the flat told version. Showing is not always right, but knowing how to show gives you the choice.
How to use
- Choose your options above
- Click Generate
- Copy your result
Detailed instructions
- Choose how many prompts you want.
- Generate a set and pick a state to dramatise.
- Write a paragraph that shows it without the label.
- Compare it to the flat, told version.
Use Cases
- •Practising the show-don't-tell skill deliberately
- •Revising a draft that states emotions flatly
- •Building stronger scene-writing instincts
- •Running a craft exercise for a writing group
- •Turning summary into vivid drama
Tips
- →Forbid the obvious emotion word and work around it.
- →Use action and specific detail, not adjectives.
- →Remember telling is fine for minor beats.
- →Test by deleting the label and rereading.
FAQ
Should I always show and never tell?
No. Telling is efficient for transitions and minor beats; showing is for the moments that matter most. The skill is knowing how to show so you can choose deliberately — writers who can only tell have no choice, and writers who only show exhaust their readers.
How do these prompts actually help?
Each names a feeling and withholds the label, forcing you to dramatise through action and detail. Repetition builds the instinct that reading about the technique alone never does — you have to do it many times to make it automatic.
How do I know if I have succeeded?
Read it back and ask whether a stranger would feel the state without being told. If you can delete the emotion word and the paragraph still lands, you have shown it. If the meaning collapses without the label, more dramatising is needed.
How many prompts are in the pool?
Fourteen, covering a range of emotions and states. You can request between one and ten per session and the generator shuffles each time, so the selection changes with every run.
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