Hey Monster Maker!

Let’s talk about one of the oldest writing rules in the book. It’s the GOAT for a reason: Show, don’t tell.

But what does that actually mean when you’re building monsters?

Great question! Nothing kills the terror faster than a monster explained instead of experienced.

If you tell me “the creature was terrifying,” my immediate thought is, Why? What’s terrifying about it?

If you show me its yellow eyes blinking sideways in the dark . . .

If you let me hear its fingernails clicking against the wall as it sniffs the air for me . . .

Now I’m clutching my emotional support garlic.

How About an Example?

Telling:

The demon was terrifying. It was huge and angry.

Yawn. Feels like a secondhand story from someone’s sister’s cousin’s boyfriend.

Showing:

The pallid demon ducked beneath the door-frame to enter, its crumbling horns scraping gouges into the wood. Smoke curled from its open mouth, carrying the stench of sulfur, of rot. It smiled with too many teeth, not one of them human.

Now we’re sweating. Now we feel the monster. We might even smell it.

🔮 Why This Matters

When you tell, you’re giving readers information.

When you show, you’re giving them an experience.
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And horror, fantasy, and all things monster? They thrive on sensation.

Smells. Sounds. Textures. Movements. Emotional reactions from the characters. Give us those, and your monster crawls right off the page and into your reader’s head (and hopefully, their nightmares!).

Try This: Monster Show-and-Tell Swap

Take one of your own monster descriptions and find a spot where you’ve written something like:

• “It was horrifying.”
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• “She was dangerous.”
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• “The creature was unlike anything I’d ever seen.”

Now swap it for something sensory, specific, and visceral. What does it look like? What does it do that shows the danger? What sound does it make that chills spines? What acrid odor exudes from its depths? What do its talons feel like scraping against your skin?

🧠 Pro Tip

Your characters’ reactions are a goldmine for showing. If a knight who just slayed a massive dragon suddenly goes pale at the sight of a shadow moving under the water? That tells us so much–and without a single “scary” adjective.

Drop me a Line--No, Really!

Want to send me a line you’re working on? Hit reply! I’d love to help you monster it up.

Or just tell me what beast you’re brewing this week! 👹

Until the shadows stop moving,
Heidi

Monster Mentor | Terror Translator | Show-Don’t-Tell Siren 🖤✍️

​comicsbyheidi.com​
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