Show V.S. Tell

Since I skipped Kindergarten, show-and-tell was a foreign concept until I went into 8th grade Comp (the best class in my entire life--awesome teacher, awesome students, awesome homework) where I was introduced to the pros and cons of writing show-and-tell.

TELL: A direct narrative of surroundings.
     The delicate, white blossoms of the young Bradford Pears danced in the garden, instilling their aroma around the clear mountain air.  Reflecting the gray and blue dawn, a silent pool's surface was broken by the bathing of a brown sparrow.  Deeper in the pool swam silver koi fish, happily waving their fins.

SHOW: A indirect demonstration of surroundings.
     Eriana watched a sparrow dip his head into the silent pool.  She smiled as it chirped and flew off, her attention still on the pond and its silver koi fish who were happily waving their fins underneath the gray-bluish surface.  It all seemed fitting for such a clear morning, the way the delicate, white blossoms of the young Bradford Pears danced in the garden, instilling their aroma around the clear mountain air.  Along with herself, everything and everyone was waking.

PROS OF TELL:
Obviously, you can reach for a more artistic voice if you choose to tell your reader about his surroundings instead of showing them to him.  Also, this form provides a breather between too much dialogue or action.  In today's culture, telling is generally deemed a naive tactic, but J.R.R. Tolkein can be found flinging around huge paragraphs of description in a direct narrative voice.

PROS OF SHOW:
If you're seeking more of a less-classical voice, as in, more of the Katniss Everdeen action-y voice, you'll definitely want to use this form to keep the flow of movement going while still incorporating scenery.  Plus, telling (for most people) takes twice as long as showing, so you'll find yourself making the most of your time

CONS OF TELL:
When put in the wrong place (e.g. in the middle of a fight scene, in the middle of a romance scene, and occasionally in the middle of dialogue) these tell-paragraphs get absolutely lost.
I won't lie.
Most of the time, when I see a tell-paragraph that is interrupting the flow of action, I skip it.
So above all:

Do not put tell-paragraphs in the wrong places.

Also, for many thrill-readers like myself, too many of these makes a book unreadable.  It's not necessary to write down a scene to the square centimeter; the fun of reading is in the imagination, so let your reader imagine.

CONS OF SHOW:
Show-paragraphs lack bold, artistic flavor.  Also:

To properly execute a show-paragraph, it's necessary to match up feelings and scenery.

What I mean when I say this, is that if your character is feeling mad, it's not the best time to put in a show-paragraph about the chirping birds and beautiful flowers.  I'm not going as far as to say that anytime your character is sad, a sudden popcorn shower has to appear.  (In fact, authors often use the opposite to reach a sense of irony.  "Eriana felt bitter at the bright, beautiful noon when her heart was in turmoil.")  However, if things don't match up right, leave the paragraph out or change your setting.

Write on!
Clove
P.S. Want to hear a song that I love to write to?

Don't feel bad; I just keep it on loop too.  :)