Show, Don't Tell
Revealing state and meaning through action and detail rather than direct telling
The five levels
Each anchor describes what separates one level from the next — not a general description of quality. This is the text the evaluator itself reads.
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Level 1 Below Standard
Direct telling of emotions and states
Example "He was very angry" without any action showing it
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Level 2 Approaching
Showing followed by telling that repeats it
Example Describes the trembling hand then says "he was afraid"
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Level 3 At Standard
Clear showing that dispenses with telling
Example Action and detail reveal the state on their own
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Level 4 Above Standard
Layered showing revealing multiple emotions in one detail
Example A single detail carrying love and fear at once
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Level 5 Exemplary
Exceptional showing making the reader feel before he understands
Example The reader is moved without the emotions being named
Where does your own work sit on these levels?
Submit one work to be read against this criterion alone: your position across the five levels, why you are not higher and why not lower, three literal quotes from your own work, and one exercise with its success check. Your first card is free.
Price: 7 SAR · Included in Pro & Artist Plus · First one free — Pricing details
Read my work by this criterionOther criteria in the same art
Building story according to: setup, confrontation, resolution
The five levels →Separating what the character outwardly pursues (want) from what they inwardly need, and the tension between them.
The five levels →Building main character with motivations, problems, and transformation
The five levels →Creating anticipation making reader want to know what happens
The five levels →Building external and internal conflicts that intertwine to enrich the drama
The five levels →Moments that shift the story's course and raise its stakes irreversibly
The five levels →The ending's ability to close the story and leave a lasting impression
The five levels →Does each scene turn a dramatic value (+ to − or vice versa)? A scene that changes nothing is a dead scene.
The five levels →