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What I Learned From Chekov’s Moonlight
Show, Don’t Tell.
If you’ve heard that frustratingly simple-yet-complex writing advice before, and you wanted to throw your laptop through an open window, just to show them…well, you aren’t alone.
Writers, especially nonfiction writers, often struggle with it.
When I’m coaching writers or holding workshops, I often use this paraphrase from a writer named Anton Chekhov: “Don’t tell me the moon is shining, show me the glint of moonlight on the glass.”
I use it so often because it is one of the best explanations I’ve come across.
Chekhov never gave his writing advice in exactly this wording, he was actually explaining (telling) his brother about his technique (of showing.)
He was referencing Hydrophobia, a short-story he had written, and it contains the line: “The dam, flooded with moonlight, showed not a bit of shade; on it, in the middle, the neck of a broken bottle glittered like a star.”
You’ll notice…never once did he say “In this short story, I will tell you why people should fear the dam at night.”
Instead, he set the scene by telling us:
- About the glowing moonlight that washed out the dam with not even a shade of darkness
- Giving the briefest of…
