Exposition (narrative) facts for kids
Narrative exposition is when a writer gives you important background information in a story. Think of it as the author telling you things you need to know to understand what's happening. This information can be about the place where the story happens, a character's past, events that happened before the story started, or even historical facts.
In books and stories, exposition is like small pieces of information woven into the main story. It's one of the main ways writers share details, along with describing things, trying to convince you of something, and just telling the story itself.
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How Exposition Works in Stories
When you read a story, sometimes the author needs to tell you things directly. This is called exposition. It helps you understand the world of the story and the characters.
What is an Information Dump?
An information dump (or infodump) is when a writer gives you a lot of background information all at once. Imagine reading a book, and suddenly there's a whole page explaining the history of a magical kingdom. This can sometimes slow down the story or make it harder to feel like you're really in the world the author created.
Writers usually try to avoid big information dumps. It's often better to give just a little bit of information at a time and let the reader discover things as they go along.
Indirect Exposition: Clues for Readers
Indirect exposition, also known as incluing, is a clever way to share background information without directly telling you. It's like the author is giving you clues! The goal is to slowly introduce you to the world of the story without you even realizing it.
Writers can do this in many ways:
- Through conversations: Characters might talk about past events or rules of their world.
- Through flashbacks: A character might remember something important from their past.
- Through characters' thoughts: You might learn about the world through what a character is thinking.
- Through background details: Small descriptions of objects or places can hint at bigger ideas.
- Through in-universe media: Maybe characters read a newspaper or watch a news report that gives you information.
- Through the narrator: The person telling the story might share a bit of history here and there.
This technique has been used for a long time. For example, Rudyard Kipling used it in his stories like The Jungle Book. He needed to help Western readers understand the culture and environment of India. So, he slowly explained things through examples in his stories. Later, in his science fiction stories, he used it even more to explain completely new and imaginary worlds.
Another famous writer, Robert Heinlein, was also known for using indirect exposition.
The word incluing was made popular by author Jo Walton. She described it as "scattering information seamlessly through the text," instead of stopping the story to give a big explanation.
Writers try to avoid "information dumps" and something called an "idiot lecture." An idiot lecture is when characters tell each other information they already know, just for the audience's benefit. For example, a character wouldn't say, "As you well know, Professor, a prime number is..." if they both already know what a prime number is!
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