I once heard a very famous novelist refute the ‘show don’t tell’ writing mantra by explaining that:

‘We’re storytellers, not story showers.’

My initial reaction was that I wanted to physically fight him, this man who’s sold many, many books, but whose writing I do not respect. 

Because show don’t tell is a critical tenet for great writing, because without it, then you’re more of a story planner than a writer. And that is a challenge in itself, don’t get me wrong. But it’s like the difference between someone who explains what they want to paint, and somebody who can actually bring it to life.

Great writing requires color, shading, attention to detail, and not just in the details of scene itself, but in the words that you use to illustrate such. Understanding the difference between showing and telling is the difference between making your audience comprehend your story, and feel it. And in some genres and styles, that’s fine. People who read thrillers are looking for fast-paced action, and they’re not as interested in reading a challenging narrative about the conflicting emotions of the main character. So you can succeed in telling not showing in that context, though I would still argue that you need to understand the principle, in order to apply or ignore it at will.

Stories that tell more than show will fail to resonate as much as they could, and won’t be as captivating, or emotionally involving as great writing. You want to recreate the scene in your head, and not just what’s happening, but the detail that the characters would notice, the expanded physical cues that point to how the people or creatures within it are feeling. It’s those elements that are the real gold, the real resonators that elevate a story to another level. 

You can argue against this if you want, but you’ll be wrong. And the more that you dig into the emotions and responses, beyond the core story elements, the better your writing will be.