This is part 1 of 8 in my series: Successful Worldbuilding in Fantasy Fiction. Each post tackles one piece of the puzzle, and the blog posts stack one on top of another to create the full picture.
As an author coach and developmental editor specialising in fantasy (and all manner of speculative) fiction, one of the things that my clients struggle with most is exposition. And I get it.
When we’re writing a book, we’re juggling so many (often contradictory!) considerations:
We need to:
settle the reader into the world of our book (which is often a secondary world setting) as quickly as possible,
BUT we need to start with action, not exposition, to draw the reader in.
We need to:
give the reader enough information in order to understand the context of what’s happening on the page,
BUT we have to avoid the dreaded ‘infodump’ at all costs.
We need to:
include enough hints about where the story is going so that the reader can have that ‘aha!’ moment when the hint pays off,
BUT we can’t include too many of these, or else we run the risk of annoying the reader, or suggesting that we think they won’t be able to pick up on the subtext.
It’s a lot. In fact, it can feel a bit like knitting a jumper using ten strands of greased-up fishing line with your eyes closed.
So, what the heck are we supposed to do?
Well, here’s the good news: Yes, successfully navigating the fine line between creating an absorbing, multi-faceted and believable secondary world and overloading your reader with information can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be!
It’s all about balance, and understanding the varying methods of conveying information to our readers, and the different roles those pieces of information play.
So, let’s get into it, shall we?
This post will cover the subtle difference between context and exposition, as well as define some frequently used terms.
It won’t cover the specifics of how to include worldbuilding information, which I'll get to in later parts of this series.
Context and Exposition
There’s a lot of terminology that muddies up the waters around conveying worldbuilding and backstory information in writing. For example, exposition and context are often used interchangeably (I’m guilty of this myself, sometimes!) but they are not actually the same thing.
Really understanding the nuance between some of these terms can help you to think more strategically about the information you convey to the reader and the methods you use to do that, so the first thing we need to do is clarify some of these terms before we really get into the nitty gritty of the subject in later blog posts.
Context: This is the information about the world, characters’ backstory, historical events, geopolitical complexities, magic system logistics, etc. that you are providing to the reader to allow them to successfully settle themselves into the world, understand the characters and the conflict inherent within the narrative, and become invested in the story.
Exposition: When we’re talking about exposition in fiction (sometimes referred to as ‘narrative exposition’) what we’re essentially talking about is the method used to include context.
There are two types of narrative exposition:
Direct exposition (telling), where you explicitly deliver contextual information to the reader, often through narrative summary, dialogue or internal monologue (think ‘infodump’!)
Indirect exposition (showing), where you thread subtle context clues into your narrative that build upon one another to reveal elements of worldbuilding, backstory, characterisation, and so on.
The difference between context and exposition can feel subtle, but it’s an important distinction. Not all contextual information is crucial to the reader’s understanding of, and engagement with, your story, and not all exposition is done directly!
The trick is knowing what contextual information is needed when, and what would be the best way to deliver that information through exposition.
Other Useful Terms
Now that our main terms have been defined, let’s have a whistlestop tour of some of the other terminology often used when discussing this subject!
Worldbuilding: At this point you’re probably rolling your eyes and saying, ‘I write fantasy, I know what worldbuilding is!’ But bear with me – there’s method to my madness. When we’re talking about context and exposition, we’re not always talking about ‘worldbuilding’ as the sum of information that you have created about the world in which your book takes place. Instead, we're often talking specifically about the pieces of information you deliver to your reader about the story world, as well as when and how you do it. Again, it’s a subtle difference, but one that is important to point out before we head into the rest of this blog series!
Backstory: Generally, backstory is the more ‘human’ (for want of a better word – this applies no matter what kind of races/species/people you’re writing about!) and emotive elements of contextual information. It is information about events occurring prior to the first chapter of your book that are important to your characters, their experiences, their past, and the impact these prior events have had on their hopes, dreams and fears, etc. Backstory brings elements of emotional depth, relationships, and empathetic connection into the reading experience.
Infodump: A term that can freeze a fantasy author like a rabbit in headlights! It’s one of the most well-known (and feared!) types of direct exposition in fantasy and speculative fiction. An infodump happens when the author effectively stops the forward movement of a given scene in order to ‘dump’ a large amount of expository information that they feel is crucial for the reader to understand before the story can move forward. This breaks the reader out of an immersive reading experience, often overloads them with information that they don’t yet know what to do with, and can also test their patience, resulting in them putting the book down. Don’t do this if you can possibly avoid it (and the chances are, you can!)
Show, don’t tell: This ‘rule’ (I hope you can hear me rolling my eyes from where you are…) is pretty much ubiquitous in the discussion of exposition. The general message of this writing advice is that delivering contextual information through showing (indirect narrative exposition) is going to be more immersive than telling (using direct narrative exposition). And it general, it is good advice, but it doesn’t leave any room for nuance. Both showing and telling are important tools when it comes to delivering contextual information to your reader, but you need to be able to make the decision about when and how to either show or tell.
(A quick aside: There are no real ‘rules’ when it comes to writing. Only guidelines. However, in my experience, we have to really understand those guidelines in order to know when and how to successfully ignore them!)
Okay, friends! That’s it for our whistle-stop tour of exposition terminology! I know you might be thinking that a blog post on definitions isn’t going to be particularly practical for your individual writing craft, but you might be surprised!
Extra credit assignment: Pick up the nearest fantasy novel (ideally the first volume if it’s part of a series) and read the first few pages. As new information is delivered, ask yourself: ‘Is this worldbuilding or backstory? Is this crucial contextual information in this moment? Is the exposition direct or indirect?’ The more you familiarise yourself with the way contextual information is delivered, the easier it will be for you to apply what you learn to your own writing!
And with that, part 1 of this series is done. Next time, in part 2, we'll look at how to decide what worldbuilding elements to include without alienating your readers.
Hi, I’m Alexandra.
I’m an author coach and developmental editor specialising in helping fantasy authors bring their worlds to life, and make their books as immersive, compelling and enjoyable as possible!
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