By the great Heather (Hedda) Flaherty
(This is a long one since I used her notes.)
INTRODUCTION
Okay, so, Expository. We all kinda get what it is… it means explanation. But it has a stigma to it, that it’s bad. And it is, IF it comes too much too quickly. It’s not over-all bad—we want to get into the characters’ heads, hear what they’re thinking, gain information through what they’re seeing and experiencing—but, in moderation of course.
There are couple types of exposition in writing:
1. Line expository—smaller expository elements where a feeling or action is explained instead of shown. Like, “Jenny was annoyed at what I said” … Instead of “Jenny rolled her eyes and walked away.” (Thus was created the phrase “Show me, don’t tell me.” Or “Action over Expository.”)
2. Big info dumps—when the reader is given a characters back story in one giant full sweep of a paragraph, that stops the story in its tracks and winds up boring the reader to death.
More often than not, I find writers leaning on explanation of a situation rather than simply showing us the situation through action. It’s a tough balance to get, but one that will be well worth it in the long run. So let’s get to it.
