How Much Exposition is Too Much Exposition
What is too much exposition?
Too much exposition at once, presented in the wrong way, will leave your reader bored and they’ll start skimming or abandon the book entirely. Too little exposition, and your reader might be too lost to understand the story.
How do you avoid too much exposition?
How to avoid exposition
- Backstory. People in real life don’t tend to stand around summarising their pasts in their heads, or thinking about their entire life history.
- Events and second-hand reporting.
- World-building and history.
- Descriptions.
- Emotions and traits.
- Dialogue.
How long should exposition be in a novel?
How Long Is the Exposition in Most Stories? Since stories are about change and values in conflict, the exposition, which contains no change, is necessarily quite short. Most exposition is just two or three scenes, and sometimes it’s just half a scene.
Is 7 main characters too much?
The short answer is: no such number exists. You can include as many characters in your novel as you want to. It’s your story, and there’s no rule book you need to follow on how to write a great story. The creative process is yours to own.
What is bad exposition examples?
An example of bad exposition is when two characters discuss something only to convey information to the audience: it feels forced.
What are the 4 types of exposition?
Comparison – The author shows how two or more topics are alike. Contrast – The author shows how two or more topics are different. Cause and Effect – The author demonstrates the cause while showing the effects of the cause. Problem and Solution – The author explains a problem, then explores possible solutions.
What is an exposition dump?
An Exposition—or “information”—dump is a term used for when the writer gives away the story, the plot, or the world directly to the reader, as opposed to subtly telling the story by showing it unfold.
What are the two rules of exposition?
1. Eliminate exposition that isn’t absolutely necessary or that will become clear as the story moves forward. 2. Deliver exposition in scenes that contain conflict.
What are the 5 types of exposition?
Here are some of the most popular types of exposition.
- Dialogue. A conversation between two or more characters allows for simple and effective exposition in a single scene.
- Narration.
- Mise-en-scène.
- Text or title cards.
- Flashback.
Is exposition good or bad?
Before we dive too deep into this writing mistake, I want to make one thing abundantly clear: Exposition is not an inherently bad thing in writing. In fact, it’s a very important tool for writers to use, because it’s how we describe setting and character as well as deliver backstory.
What does exposition mean?
: a setting forth of the meaning or purpose (as of a writing) : discourse or an example of it designed to convey information or explain what is difficult to understand.
What is a good exposition?
From the famous opening crawl of Star Wars (“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…”) to the saga of the Montagues and Capulets from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, good exposition provides essential background information about the main characters and events in a story.