Show, Don't Tell
Pick an emotion and see concrete examples of how to convey it without naming it. Not to copy — to retrain your ear for what observed detail feels like versus stated emotion.
try it ↓Example lines
What "show don’t tell" means
Instead of stating an emotion directly — "I was sad", "she was in love", "he felt guilty" — you describe the physical or behavioral detail that conveys it. The listener feels the emotion without being told what to feel.
"She kept his number in her phone for two years after" doesn’t say grief. It shows you a behavior. The behavior tells you everything.
This tool gives you examples organized by emotion — not to borrow the line, but to understand what the technique looks like in practice. The goal is to retrain your ear for what a concrete, observed detail feels like.
Questions
Can I actually use these lines in my song?
These are examples to study, not lines to copy. The point is to see the technique in action — a behavior, an object, an action that implies the emotion. Then you find your own version.
When is it okay to just state the emotion?
Naming an emotion is fine when you've already earned it through concrete detail, or when the direct statement lands harder than an image would. 'Show don't tell' is a technique, not a law. But most early drafts err too far toward telling.
How many examples are there?
Hundreds — organized across several emotions including Loneliness, Joy, Heartbreak, Hope, Anger, and Healing. Each emotion has many examples at different levels of subtlety.
What if I can't find my emotion in the list?
Pick the closest one and look at the examples. The technique is the same regardless of the specific emotion. Understanding how grief is shown often unlocks how to show guilt, regret, or loss.
