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In my last thread on Boskone, I promised you some more of what I learnt at the convention. Well, actually, I knew that one from the workshop I attended last October. But it was nice all the same to have my memory refreshed, and hear the same topic discussed with different words, different examples. Here's a small bit on the intricacies of exposition in fiction writing.

Exposition... Probably the bane of every author. How to go about it? How many details to include? Those questions have been, and will be, debated for many years. Although there isn't one right formula to it, there are things that can be avoided, and ways to apply all that knowledge that we gained during the many hours of research. Too many authors loathe letting go of what they have learned, simply because they don't want to have this feeling of having wasted so much time, pain and effort amassing the information. And because of this, many books out there resemble exposés on the complexities of sailing a boat, or why it is that a robot needs to recharge its batteries.

Just imagine two friends walking on the street, on one bright and sunny day:

Bill gives a nudge to his friend, smiling his perfect smile: "As you know, Bob, we are robots."
Bob nods.
"And as robots, we have to recharge our batteries."
Again, Bob nods.
"And, as you well know, Bob, if we don't recharge our batteries, we'll run out of power."
Bob pauses, looks at Bill with a frown, and then resumes walking as he realizes the truth in his friend's words.

Pretty silly, don't you think? Of course, published fiction isn't like that (well, maybe there are a few exceptions... "> ). But it often feels like it. How many times do we find ourselves saying, when reading a book: "all right. This is the part where I get to learn how to pilot a spaceship," or something similar? However, there are many ways to pass that piece of vital information, without it sounding as a lecture. Make it part of your plot. Make it part of your character's lives.

Consider this:

Bill ran as fast as he could, Bob close behind him. As he neared the building that would hide them from their pursuers, a loud thud made him stop dead in his tracks. Bob had collapsed. A quick glance at his friend's flashing pupils confirmed his fears: Bob, once again, had neglected to recharge his power cells. This time, it would cost him his life.

Okay. Not the best piece of fiction there is, but certainly better than the first. In a few lines, you recognize you're not dealing with humans, and those non-humans' lives depend on a routine power cell recharge. You also get the feel that Bill is sort of a leader, and Bob is a bit distracted. And you know these non-humans are being pursued, and you want to know why, and by whom. So, the author accomplished more than just telling you some boring piece of information. He made you interested in the plot, and in the characters' fate.

In another book, I forget its name, we're introduced to this character, the captain of a sailing boat. The author does an excellent job at describing the captain's personality, his fears, his dreams. He does that so well, that when we finally reach that part where the captain steps on his ship, examining with a critical eye his crew and the state of the ship, (where we well know that the dreadful exposé is not so far ahead, right Bob?), we forget what comes next - inevitably the long descriptions of the workings of a sailing boat - and the mental notes of our character in changing a footrope here, or repairing a sail there, and why all that is so important, become part of the natural flow of the story. Because the captain and his ship are one person, and we got to learn how, and why, this ship is so important to him. That's another way of exposing details: make them an intricate part of your character's life, so intertwined that one cannot exist without the other.

It gives an idea of how to approach exposition. Of course, it's not that simple. But as you know, Bob, excellent writing never is. ">

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manon you are so clever.

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thanks, that makes a whole lotta sense to me ">