StructureFoundational
Exposition
The delivery of background information the reader needs.
Principle
Exposition works best when information arrives under pressure.
Takeaways
- It should answer a live reader question.
- It can be dramatized through conflict, discovery, or consequence.
- Explaining too early creates drag before need.
Overview
Exposition supplies context: history, world, relationship, rules, and prior events. Its craft problem is timing, because information retains when the reader has a reason to want it.
Examples
- A political system is explained only when a character is punished by it.
- Family history emerges during a contested inheritance meeting.