Show Not Tell Writing Examples Novels & Stories

On the eve of our wedding, I find out that the wedding invitations have Travis Somerson's and his assistant, Victoria Cademere's names printed on them instead of mine. I demand an answer from Victoria, who bursts into tears and tells me that she has accidentally mistyped the bride's name as hers. Travis calls me right away. "It's just a naming mistake, Harper! Must you make such a huge deal out of such a small mistake?" He even calls me a petty and jealous woman who can't even tolerate the presence of a female employee in his vicinity. Five minutes later, Victoria uploads another social media post. Apparently, not only has she uploaded a photo of the wedding invitation, but she also adds a couple photo of her and Travis being lovey-dovey. The caption reads, "Mr. Somerson told me that even if I screw up, he'll be there to help me settle everything." If a female employee were to provoke me in the past, I'd have forced Travis to fire the former. But this time, I no longer care about him anymore.

After being betrayed by her stepsister, Cathleen left the country and went abroad. However, on the day she returned to NYC, she was asked to marry the same man she caught sleeping with her stepsister 3 years ago. Cathleen agreed, as she was marrying the man to save her grandmother and wanted revenge, as well as to cut ties with her family. To her surprise, the man she married wasn't the man who betrayed her 3 years ago; it was a different man she had never seen. What happened to Finn? How will she get her revenge?  Her stepmother and stepsister found out that Finn wasn't the owner of Knight Group, so they devised a plan to make Cathleen marry the lapdog while they found out who owned Knight Group. But with Finn on the run, who then did Cathleen marry? Xavier was dimmed to be a cousin from the farm; little did the mother-and-daughter pair know that he was the big shot they had been looking for.    

On the day my boyfriend gets engaged, I'm locked in the bedroom even though I'm supposed to be with him. By the time I make it to the venue, I see him passionately kissing his first love. When I confront him, he scoffs. "Kirsty’s a wealthy heiress who can help with my career. Isn't being my girlfriend enough for you?" With my answer loud and clear, I turn and call home. "Mom, Dad—about that arranged marriage you mentioned... I'm in." The day he marries Kirsty Bainbridge is also the day I marry my alliance partner. And the moment he sees me in a wedding dress, he completely loses his composure.

Isla, a young woman who is in dire need to pay off her mom’s medical bills, thinks that she’s scored her dream job at a big fancy jewelry company. But when the company’s charismatic CEO, Victor, secretly hires her to be his personal assistant with ulterior motives of his own— he’s trying to free his wrongfully imprisoned grandfather by following the breadcrumbs of a dangerous secret with her help— her world is turned upside down. When Isla becomes closer and closer to Victor and his enigmatic life, she starts feeling an undeniable attraction towards him. But her feelings become complicated when she learns the truth about Victor’s original intentions. Isla has some soul-searching to do, torn between betrayal and love, because she was only ever a means to an end for Victor. Meanwhile, Isla faces challenges from other women who vie for Victor's attention, adding further pressure to an already delicate situation. Isla must decide whether to trust her heart or seek justice for herself and her mother.

Ellie was never the first choice. On the day of her wedding, she was replaced by her stepsister for not losing enough weight, her name becoming the city's favorite scandal overnight. The humiliation didn't end here. To fix the disgrace, her father married her off to a dying man with a checkered past. However, the man waiting for Ellie in the White mansion wasn't weak or old. Zack was dangerous, infuriatingly handsome, and impossible to read. He called himself her stepson, but the way he looked at her? Felt nothing like family! As Ellie began to uncover truths about her ex's betrayal and her family's lies, she realized one thing. Her new life wasn't a punishment. This was a beginning of something far more dangerous...

Jocelyn Campbell had it all power, love, and family. Until the night before her wedding, when it all went up in flames. Her perfect fiancé in bed with her cousin. Her empire hanging by a thread. Her heart shattered. Then came Daniel Steele ; Ethan’s cold, vengeful stepbrother, a man who turns destruction into an art form. He offers her salvation, but at a price: marry me. What begins as a ruthless alliance to crush their mutual enemies soon ignites into something far more dangerous desire. But in a world ruled by greed and betrayal, love isn’t just forbidden. It’s lethal.

"I'll pay you $3,000, Megan. Please ruin my blind date tonight." Ruining a blind date should have been easy. Megan needed the money, and the offer landed in her lap.  Why would she refuse?  One blind date with a rich, arrogant brat seemed like a piece of cake. It was until she cashed the check after successfully ruining the date, paid her tuition, and walked into her first college class. For their first group project, she and her classmates were assigned to work with the Vancleaf hockey team. And there he was. The same rich, arrogant brat she humiliated during the date. Worse, Vinn Graham has been looking for her. He didn’t forget the alien names she called him, and now that she’s on his team, where he’s captain, he promised to make her life a living hell. He promised her hell, but his gaze said the opposite. When he offered to be her fake boyfriend so her crush would notice her, things spiraled. Every stolen glance, every lingering touch, every kiss felt too real and tasted like paradise. Can Megan trust an arrogant trust-fund kid with her heart?

Zyline had liked Nick for a long time. There were six of them in their group of friends, including Nick. Everyone knew about her feelings for him-except, it seemed, Nick himself. She couldn't tell if he was just insensitive or if he simply didn't have any feelings for her. Brent was her closest best friend among all of them, and even though she was too shy to tell him about her feelings for Nick, he knew anyway. What if, one night, Brent kissed her and said they should give it a try? She couldn't deny the spark she felt when he kissed her. She agreed to what he wanted-they would try to be together but in secret. Now, she was utterly confused. When Brent thought that she still had feelings for Nick, he suddenly left and disappeared without a word. That's when Nick finally pursued her for real. But why, instead of being happy-finally noticed by Nick as a woman-did her heart keep longing for Brent? Brent, who hadn't reached out to her since the night when something almost happened between them.

If you're looking for a story with sunshine, unicorns, and cliché endings well you won't find it here. Only Disney does those kinds of stuff, actually, this is a story where hopes and dreams are crushed into tiny little pieces, I know what you're thinking this is so over-dramatic but no, it’s not. I'm just simply telling the truth and the truth can be painful sometimes, anyway this is the tale where our brave main character got caught up with shit. Her life was simple back then robbing banks here and there and hacking stuff but it all changed on a faithful night, which she wants to take back so bad. Now she is plagued into a life with Mafias and Deadly Assassins with everyone out to get her, how can a kid possibly survive through it all? Join Midnight in a fun-filled adventure of a lifetime where she battled her way in a war between the Mafias and assassins, a past that needs reconciling and a promise that needs to be treasured. Where she asks herself in the end, how can a life be so cursed?

Heart Salvacion grew up in an orphanage and, despite not having her parents' guidance, she developed into a strong, and confident woman. She is unflappable in the face of adversity and doesn't know when to quit. She is so positive and good at pretending that you would never guess she is in pain. Heart's deceased fiance left a large debt under her name and to make things worst, he borrowed the money to use it on his lover. She recently discovered that he had cheated on her, and she has no alternative than to repay the bill, despite the fact that her dream restaurant was robbed from her before she could open it. She is so depressed and anxious that she has no idea what will become of her life now that she has lost everything. There was no love, no money, and no work for her, but all changed when she met him. Percival Reddson is a young business magnate who is a cold and serious man who only cares about his work. He's also known to be a woman-hater. That same man knelt down and requested Heart's hand in marriage. His unexpected proposal has shocked Heart, but that's not all because the wedding is today?! They aren't quite ready for marriage, but would a contractual relationship work for them? Will they be able to make it to the end of the story without falling in love? Can they control their emotions now that ready or not, here comes love?!