Combating Exposition

Allow me to explain! As this is a formative blog, such explanations are appropriate. In fiction, however, at least this fiction, I am trying to avoid it like I avoid decaf.

This has been monumentally difficult for me. I want to tell the reader all about the world and the characters and the themes and...you see where this is going. But I can't. Not like that, and certainly not all at once.

I asked myself not too long ago, what do I enjoy experiencing as a reader? And my answer was overwhelmingly, 'when authors allow me to piece things together'​. I can't speak for everyone, but lately it seems like fiction writers want to hold their reader's hand through everything; explain every little detail to make sure the reader isn't lost. And some readers enjoy that: they must if so many pieces of pop fiction that utilize such exposition are so popular. I'm not knocking it so much as I'm considering what I'm trying to accomplish myself. And again, what I don't want.

This piece needs brevity in the narrative. All will be told in due time, and those who can enjoy this novel are the kind of people who will appreciate putting the puzzle together. In the same way I should trust my story and characters, I need to trust my reader. To go even further, it's a matter of respect: the reader is an intelligent, capable person who can connect the dots. The story is not overly complex or convoluted, and assuming that my readers need their hand held throughout the entire journey feels diminutive to their time and energy.

Yes, I must respect the reader every bit as much as I must respect myself. Without that, the narrative falls apart, and everything it supports comes toppling down.