I answer questions on Quora,
This one came up: Do you always have to show and not tell in creative writing?
Sometimes we get very wound around the axel figuring out show and not tell. Ironically, in our visual world, showing is far easier than telling. But in fiction and creating writing telling is far easier, which why you want to avoid as much as possible.
But not all.
All good writing mixes it up. Showing is important for love, action, and dialogue. Bring the reader along, let them feel your heroine’s pain, your hero’s wounds. But sometimes just telling the reader the heroine drove from Santa Barbara to LA is enough, especially if nothing interesting happened during the drive.
A good rule of thumb: for the trivial, tell. For the important, show.