Wright’s Writing Corner: Long Live Exposition
The beautiful and talented Mrs Wright wishes to share her tragic and joyful writing experiences, and describe a rather good idea on how to decide where to put one’s inevitable blocks of discursive information or exposition:
Last week, I had to move a large chuck of exposition. It was stuck in the middle of a rather active scene and more than one reader had complained it was awkward and dull.
I realized tat it had to be moved. But where? Ideally, I wanted it in a place where it would increase the readers interest, rather than bore them. But how to find such a place? I thought it was fascinating.
How could I tell when readers would agree with me, and when they would groan and pull out their hair?
In the end, I divided it into four pieces, putting each part into a place where it added to the scene rather than subtracting from it.
I wish I could tell you I did it gracefully.
But I can’t.
I dissolved into a puddle.
When I recovered from puddlehood, I had an insight that will, God willing, help me avoid the puddle fate in the future. It was about how to evaluate a passage to decide if a given piece of exposition would increase or decrease the reader’s interest. This insight revolved around the Japanese girls video game: Long Live the Queen.
For the rest of the exposition on exposition, click the link:
About John C Wright
John C. Wright is a practicing philosopher, a retired attorney, newspaperman, and newspaper editor, and a published author of science fiction. Once a Houyhnhnm, he was expelled from the august ranks of purely rational beings when he fell in love; but retains an honorary title.
