It's the difference between giving the reader 'stated' information, versus literally 'showing' the reader something.. HOWEVER, 'show do not tell' is merely advice given to novice writers, such as myself, who do not know the difference and simply 'tell' everything, because they do not know any better. Good writing balances the two, because there are some instances where 'telling' is necessary, while there are some instances where 'showing' is imperative. So, it should be 'Show and Tell.' Yet, you should learn the difference before you employ both. Cogito has a blog post on the difference... you can find it here: https://www.writingforums.org/entry.php?b=2182 Some ways of 'showing': Dialogue Scenes Actions Behavior For example, read Maugham and Doyle... They 'tell' a lot... but there's a slight difference, because their 'tellings' end up showing the reader an aspect of the character by using the stated information to support an up-coming scene, where the character is then seen in action, and the reader has a certain idea how/why the character is acting the way he is, due to the previously stated information. They'll provide you information such as (and please excuse the poor writing, I am not trying to imitate, but am trying to show you what I mean): Roger Dunnings was an impatient man. He was always in a hurry, rushing errands and eating meals whole, because chewing took too much time. And then, given the above information, put him in a scene, where he would act in a way that is fueled by this description and you now have an idea why he is acting the way he is, thus 'showing', while also 'telling.' But today, we are in an age where Readers are smart enough to put two and two together.. IF you open up a scene with the main character pacing, chain-smoking, speaking fast, stammering, or maybe even have the character cleaning, and missing spots... the reader can infer this man is impatient and in a hurry, for whatever reason, without the backround information. But a clear cut example of showing vs telling would be: Telling Roger Dunnings was angry. Roger Dunnings was sad. vs Roger Dunnings' cheeks flushed. Roger clenched his jaw. or Roger Dunnings' eyes glistened in the light. A tear fell down Roger's sagging cheek.
The way I have recently come to interpret this situation is to think 'how much can I, as a reader, infer from my writing?' The more I as a writer imply with the words rather than just outright saying something, the more I feel happy with the resultant prose. I have also been thinking about where 'tell' and 'show' can be best used. I think that 'tell' is at its best when a piece of information that is necessary for basic understanding and clarity is required, but it needs to be kept short so that it gets out of the way quickly. 'Show' when combined with implication probably needs more words, but as it conveys feeling and atmosphere it emphasizes in the reader's mind whatever it is that is happening, therefore is good for the more important information that a writer is conveying to the reader.
