LA
Author
LATRAME
@latrame
Telling : he was lying.
Showing : he answered a little too fast. Then he repeated the question, as if buying time for the next answer.
The word "lying" appears nowhere, and yet the reader knows before the character across the table does. That's the whole exercise : remove the label, keep the gesture, and let the reader reach the conclusion half a second before you hand it to them. That half second is the pleasure of reading.
Showing : he answered a little too fast. Then he repeated the question, as if buying time for the next answer.
The word "lying" appears nowhere, and yet the reader knows before the character across the table does. That's the whole exercise : remove the label, keep the gesture, and let the reader reach the conclusion half a second before you hand it to them. That half second is the pleasure of reading.