But in fiction, you should always aim for indirect exposition. If you’re doing technical writing, you might need to use expository paragraphs to break down background information. This will also occur in-scene, which means it contributes to the progression of the forward story. This makes the backstory feel natural and seamless, which creates not only a compelling narrative, but also a more immersive experience. This could happen in a variety of ways (which we’ll discuss in a minute), and it eases the reader into the world by filling them in as they need to be filled in. Indirect exposition is when exposition is revealed gradually. Its main exports were iron ore from the mines and its main imports were lumber, since the terrain was rocky and harsh.” Indirect Exposition The Kingdom of Cheese Curls was rainy for most of the year, since it was positioned on the coast of a harsh, unnavigable ocean. The Kingdom was ruled by the King and his advisors. “The Kingdom of Cheese Curls was founded by the goddess Cheese, and its current king, King Curl, came from a long line said to be descended from the goddess. You won’t see the forward story progress here, as this is entirely devoted to filling in the reader. This is a paragraph or section devoted entirely to describing background information. One method of delivering exposition comes in the form of an expository paragraph. It provides rich detail and reveals interesting information to enhance the reader’s experience. This is what exposition does at its best. If we didn’t know that, we wouldn’t have that tension. If we learn that one of our characters is from a kingdom which has long since been at war with another, that introduces conflict and tension. Second, it can reveal character motivations, thus raising the stakes. This does a few things: first, it provides context for the story, so the reader knows what’s going on. Backstory fills us in on details about the world and the characters in it. In her article “What Backstory Can Do For Your Story,” Jessica Morrell writes that while your forward story is made up of the plot itself and what’s happening to your characters in-scene, backstory is background information. Any story is going to have information the reader needs to know which happened before the events of the story, so every writer will need to learn to balance exposition at some point or other. While exposition is most often discussed in the context of fantasy novels, where readers need to impart an entirely new world to a reader, it’s something authors in any genre have to reckon with. This means the author needs to impart that information to the reader, and the way they do that can have a huge effect on the reading experience. For example, in a fantasy world, the reader doesn’t know everything about the world, cultures, and customs. Plainly put, exposition is how the author conveys background information to the reader. Read on to learn more about what exposition is, how it works, and how to use it effectively in your novel! What is exposition in a story? Being able to balance exposition in a story will distinguish a great manuscript from a mediocre one and change a clunky plot into a page-turner. Or maybe you’ve read a fantasy novel and found yourself unable to get through the first chapter because, no matter how hard you tried to pay attention, you couldn’t get past the textbook-like description of the worlds and characters.Įxposition is one of the most vital aspects of storytelling, and it’s one of the easiest things to do wrong. Has anyone ever told you that your story was good, but included too much info-dumping?
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