Books expounding on the necessity of showing and not telling abound. But, it’s almost clichéd, or so oft quoted that it’s assumed that every writer knows what “show, don’t tell” means. What it doesn’t mean is that telling is never appropriate. Here’s a quotation from one of my favorite books on the subject: “Despite what you’ve been told, showing is NOT the best thing a writer can do. It is ONE thing a writer can and should do, but only at the right time or thereafter. That time is absolutely NOT during your first draft.” -- James Lofquist, Tell, Don’t Show!

For me, it is similar to knowing the difference between an active sentence and a passive one. In the former, the subject acts or shows the reader what is happening as opposed to the latter in which the subject is acted upon, telling the reader what is happening. And, if you've ever done any trench digging, you can appreciate the difference between using a handy device called a Ditch Witch® and using a pick and shovel. Some writing days are Ditch Witch® days, and some are "pick and shovel" days, whether you're 'showing' or 'telling' or both.

There are days when all a writer can do is to tell, and that's okay. Sometimes, writing is more like a 'do-it-yourself paint-by-number' kit. I loved them when I was in Cub Scouts. The writer creates the basic outline with all the little numbers: word prompts, clues, notes to self, etc., each corresponding to 'word' colors: emotions, actions, scenery, etc. Then, s/he fills the rest in, right? "Mostly," says Newt in Aliens when she's urging the heroine, Ripley, that the survivors of a disastrous rescue attempt must find shelter before nightfall when the monsters "mostly" come out. I am not suggesting that writing is about monsters, even though it sometimes is.

Occasionally, what the writer has 'told' only needs some cleanup work because a story cannot really move forward if it is just a collection of 'show' only. Even many photo albums have some 'tell' in them: names, dates, and captions like "Kimmie and Me at the prom, April 1978." (I still wonder where Kimmie is now, sometimes.)

I occasionally scribble pages of notes, descriptions, names, vocabulary, and quotes, but not very often, because I don’t have the patience to do all that stuff. I know some would-be writers do take the time to prepare a very detailed writing roadmap yet become so enamored with said roadmap and trying to sketch out everything that they become literally paralyzed and wind up not writing their story. But I usually just forge ahead, believing I am letting the story "show" AND "tell" itself. That discovery method works for me, mostly, because I already have a general sense in my mind in which direction I want the story to go. And, as if it had a mind of its own, like a horse allowed its own head, the story moves forward, showing and telling without my help. It can be exhilarating. Sadly, this technique, or whatever you want to call it, isn’t foolproof. It’s a kind of freewriting, writing that is typically ‘unshowable’ to anyone and wasn’t meant to be, unless a teacher wants you to show your work.

Learning to show and not tell is an important process for writers, but learning that all good writing isn’t one hundred percent show is important, too!