Business Quote by V. S. Pritchett
“It is less the business of the novelist to tell us what happened than to show how it happened.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: The Art of Fiction, 1975
Novelists should demonstrate events through vivid scenes rather than merely narrating them.
In simple terms: Show, don’t tell in storytelling.
Key Takeaway
Focus on showing, not telling.
Themes
writing
craft
fiction
storytelling
technique
Mood
analytical
educational
Type
literary
instructional
When to use this quote
- creative writing workshops
- editing drafts
- teaching literature
- author interviews
Key Concepts
show
don
telling
narrative
immersion
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you balance showing with necessary exposition?
- When does telling become useful?
A Different Perspective
Showing can be less efficient for plot exposition.
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)
