For writers reworking a scene
Story Rewriter: POV, Tense, Show Don't Tell
Paste a passage and pick a change. Get it back rewritten in your voice, with every change marked and a clean copy to paste back.
Free to start. No card needed.
Nell was furious with her brother. She told him the money was gone.put the biscuit tin down hard on the table between them and took off the lid. Empty. "Well?" Tom looked at the tin, then at the door, and didn't say anything, which told her everything.
- Show, don't tell: her anger is in what she does, not the word "furious".
- The empty tin says the money is gone, so no one has to.
- New detail to check: the biscuit tin.
What you'll get
Your passage rewritten the way you choose, with every change marked
- Your passage rewritten the one way you choose, in your voice
- Every cut struck through and every addition in bold, plus a clean copy
- A note on what changed, with any new detail listed for you to check
Before and after
Same scene, same voice, now in third person.
I hadn't been back to the farm since the funeral. The gate still stuck, so I lifted it the way Dad used to, one hand under the latch. He'd laugh at me for remembering that. "You took your time, Josie," Aunt Ro said from the porch.
Josie hadn't been back to the farm since the funeral. The gate still stuck, so she lifted it the way Dad used to, one hand under the latch. He'd laugh at her for remembering that. "You took your time, Josie," Aunt Ro said from the porch. The name comes from Aunt Ro's line, and Aunt Ro's words stay exactly as she said them. "Dad" stays "Dad", because that's what Josie calls him.
Only the narration moves. What people say stays theirs.
Why it works
What does a story rewriter do?
A story rewriter changes a passage of your fiction in one way you choose and leaves the rest alone. River's free story rewriter does it in your voice. Tap show, don't tell, first or third person, past or present tense, or more detail, or ask for something else in plain words. You get the passage back with every cut struck through and every addition in bold, a clean copy and a short note on what changed. For sentence-level tightening, use the line editor.
Switching person or tense takes more than swapping words. A converter that turns every "I" into "she" also changes the dialogue, where characters still say "I". River changes the narration and leaves speech and italic thoughts as written. In past tense, earlier events step back to "had"; in present tense, they become plain past. Moving into one character's head means dropping what that character couldn't know, and River lists each line it had to recast, so nothing changes without you seeing it.
Show, don't tell is the other big job. Telling names a feeling ("she was furious"); showing lets readers see it in what a character does and says. River shows the moments that matter and leaves quick links between scenes as plain telling, because showing everything makes a page drag. Anything it invents, like an object or a gesture, is listed for you to check. Leave the change blank, and River picks the one that would help your passage most and tells you why.
What lands in your doc
What lands in your doc
- Your passage marked up, with every cut struck through and every addition in bold
- A clean copy of the rewritten passage, ready to paste straight back into your draft
- Six changes to tap: show, don't tell, either person, either tense, or more detail
- Dialogue and italic thoughts kept exactly as written when the person or tense changes
- Every new detail it invented listed separately, so you can keep or cut each one
- No change chosen? It picks the one that helps your passage most and says why
How it works
From flat passage to the version you wanted
Paste a passage
Paste a scene or a few paragraphs. Want something not on the list? Add a line saying so.
Pick a change
Tap show, don't tell, a person, a tense or more detail, or leave the choice to River.
See every change
Your doc shows cuts struck through and additions in bold, then a clean copy and short notes.
Keep what works
Copy the clean passage into your draft, try a different change, or paste the next scene.
How to rewrite a passage without losing your voice
"Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass" is usually credited to Anton Chekhov, but Wikipedia notes that it's a paraphrase. What he actually wrote to his brother was that small details make the picture: a piece of broken bottle glittering on a mill dam gives you a moonlit night. That is the craft in short. Pick the few details that carry the feeling, rather than piling up description around them.
Telling isn't wrong. Writers Helping Writers warns that if you show everything, the book swells to a doorstop, so save showing for moments that matter, especially strong feelings. Reedsy's show, don't tell guide adds that writers often tell at the start of a story or after a big reveal. Time passing, travel and plain facts usually read better told. If your characters keep smiling and sighing, The Emotion Thesaurus lists fresher ways to show a feeling.
Before you switch a whole book to a new point of view or tense, test one scene. First person keeps readers close to one narrator. Third person limited uses he or she but knows only one character's thoughts at a time, as Reedsy's point of view guide explains. Past tense is the traditional choice for novels; present tense feels more immediate. Rewrite a key scene both ways, read them aloud, and keep the one that sounds like your book. Then check the rest with the self-editing checklist.
Questions authors ask
Common questions
What is show, don't tell?
Show, don't tell is advice to let readers experience a story through action, dialogue, the senses and thoughts, rather than the narrator's summary. "She was furious" tells; "She put the tin down hard and took off the lid" shows. It doesn't mean never tell. Quick transitions and plain facts often read better told, so show the moments that matter most.
How do I change a story from first person to third person?
In the narration, change "I" to the narrator's name or a pronoun such as she, he or they, and "my" to her, his or their. Dialogue and italic thoughts keep their own "I". Then make sure the narration stays in one head. Tap Third person and River does all of this, marking each change. If the passage never names the narrator, it leaves [Name] for you to fill in.
How do I change a passage from present tense to past tense?
Move each verb in the narration back one step: "she walks" becomes "she walked", and anything that happened earlier becomes "had walked". Dialogue stays as spoken, because people talk in the present. Going the other way, plain past becomes present, and "had" usually becomes plain past. River changes the whole passage and marks every verb, so you can check the tricky spots quickly.
Will the story rewriter keep my voice?
That's what it's built for. It keeps your names, facts, dialogue, spelling and sentence rhythm, and changes only what the rewrite needs. Every change is marked, so you can see exactly what it touched and keep your own wording anywhere you prefer it. Showing and expanding add words, so each new detail is listed separately for you to keep or cut.
Can I ask for a change that isn't on the list?
Yes. Add a line in plain words before your passage, such as "slow this moment down", "more about the smells and sounds" or "make it funnier", and River follows it. You can also tap a change and add a request, and it does both. If you want a page cut down to size instead, the line editor is built for tightening.
How long a passage can I rewrite?
Up to about 2,000 words at a time, which is a long scene or a short chapter. That keeps every change easy to check. Paste more and River rewrites up to a natural break, says where it stopped, and carries on when you say keep going. To change the tense or point of view of a whole book, go scene by scene.
Will it rewrite love scenes and dark scenes?
Yes. It writes at the heat level you choose, or the level your own pages already set, and keeps dark or violent scenes as intense as you wrote them. Showing works the same way in a romantic moment as anywhere else. River finds the line that names the feeling and turns it into what the characters do, say and notice.
Your next step
More for your book
Same story, told the way it needs to be
Paste a passage, pick a change, and take the clean copy back to your draft when it sounds like you.