How do you balance showing vs. telling when writing?

Advice from a TV writer/author

Angela Hollowell asks:

How do you balance showing vs. telling when writing a script?

That’s a great question. Most writers are familiar with the old adage: “show, don’t tell.”

I used to agree with that, but things are different today because of how stories are consumed. For example, most people watch TV with a remote control in one hand, and their phone in the other. They’ll only half watch TV, often scrolling on their phone to check their email, social media, etc.

Or maybe they’re watching TV directly on their phone, which makes distraction even more inevitable. An alert will pop up, and the next thing you know they’re shopping Amazon for a 15% discount then forgetting to checkout because a friend tagged them on Instagram.

To combat this, I usually show AND tell.