How do I balance showing versus telling when writing fiction scenes?

The real question isn't 'show versus tell'—it's 'what does this moment deserve?' Sometimes a sentence of telling does the work better than three paragraphs of showing. What matters is intentionality. Showing works when you want the reader to *experience* something: the physical sensation of emotion, the texture of a relationship, the specific weight of a decision. You do this through concrete detail—not just 'she was angry,' but the way her fingers moved, what she chose to notice or ignore, the silence between her words. Telling works when you're moving readers forward, establishing context, or creating a particular emotional distance. A careful summary can do work that scene can't. The key is that telling should feel earned, not lazy—it should do something showing can't. Here's what I notice in my own writing: I show when I'm genuinely *seeing* the moment—when I've observed enough detail that I can render it. I tell when I'm trying to save time or avoid the harder work of observation. That's often a signal to slow down and actually look. Read your drafts and ask: Where am I present? Where am I observing? Where did I skip the actual seeing? That's where the real work lives. Trust your attention to guide you toward the right choice.