Why do stories include exposition

Then the protagonist main character may have a flashback or have an inner monologue speaking to him- her-self that shows the reader a previous event which impacts the story or is the cause of a later conflict along with the possible antagonist. Another way of creating the exposition is through characters talking to each other. They may discuss previous events, issues that impact the story, and other characters. This conversation clues us in as to the where, when, and who.

Exposition is important in a story because it allows the reader to see the location and factors of time, such as season, year of life, etc. It also introduces the characters. Without an idea of where and when the characters are, readers will be confused about why certain events are happening.

Without a clear idea of how the characters are connected, readers may be confused, as well. When Meggie was a toddler, her mother disappeared as her father read a story to her. That story was Inkheart.

He is now searching the world for another copy of the book because as he was reading, bad guys magically appeared from the book as his wife disappeared into it.

The excerpt below introduces Meggie and her father, showing that they have a close relationship. It also hints at the mysterious power books have on our characters. Rain fell that night, a fine, whispering rain. Many years later, Meggie had only to close her eyes and she could still hear it, like tiny fingers tapping on the windowpane. The book she had been reading was under her pillow, pressing its cover against her ear as if to lure her back into its printed pages.

Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. Super heroes have been a popular part of our culture for many decades. A popular comic book brand, Marvel comics, is best known for the Avengers, heroes with super powers who save the world over and over.

There are many different famous Pangasinan short stories. Log in. Books and Literature. Study now. See Answer. Best Answer. Study guides. Literary Terminology 21 cards. Why do stories include exposition. Which of the following gives a direction about transitions between scenes. What is a difference between writing for the stage and writing for the screen.

What is a montage in screen writing. Literary Terminology 22 cards. What was the name of the Lifetime movie about a woman who gives her son up for adoption and finds out years later that he was murdered by his adoptive parents. Which is a reason a writer might use shifts in psychic distance.

How is a third-person limited narrator different from a first-person narrator. What might a reader ask when determining the psychic distance of a piece of writing.

Books and Literature 21 cards. Give you an example of how to use the word exposition in a sentence. What was an example of flashback in the book The Outsiders. What is a flashback in drama. More answers. Exposition gives readers information they need to understand what happens. An abandoned farm in northern Montana B. A gentle child with unusual intelligence C.

A new and challenging moral dilemmas. Q: Why do stories include exposition? The opening of The Golden Compass , for example, creates an immediate sense of danger in describing a world where people in powerful positions plot and poison.

My sister had long outgrown the hiding place. Bella was fifteen and even I admitted she was beautiful, with heavy brows and magnificent hair like black syrup, thick and luxurious, a muscle down her back. I was still small enough to vanish behind the wallpaper in the cupboard, cramming my head sideways between choking plaster and beams, eyelashes scraping. Its passing mention thus foreshadows conflict as well as informing the reader of how it is that Jakob is able to escape.

This illustrates well how the best exposition often serves multiple informing and explaining purposes at the same time. Want to start a novel with a strong central idea and a plan for finishing?

Join Now Novel and brainstorm your best ideas. Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. All of your examples are from the opening pages of books. Next time, can you give us examples from further on in a MS? A plot outline goes into detail about these […]. Me: a 7th grader trying to write a Detailed Book Report This article: giving me all the info I need for technically the rest of my reports.

Your email address will not be published. Close Menu Start Login. Start your Novel. Read on for a definition of exposition in fiction, plus examples taken from fantasy, historical fiction, speculative fiction and other genres: Story exposition: Useful definitions What is story exposition?

Exposition is: The first phase in classical narrative structure, presenting circumstances preceding the action of the narrative. Oxford Reference uses the example of a dialogue about a case in a crime drama: In drama, a kind of writing where characters talk about the plot: for example, in crime dramas this may take the form of a police briefing where officers are told about the case they have to solve.

They further qualify, however, an important detail about story exposition: It can read as undramatic or to put it another way, dry : This kind of writing is sometimes necessary but is often undramatic: screenwriters, for example, are advised to avoid lengthy or explicit exposition. First, a word on genre and story exposition: What about genre-specific exposition? Study the opening chapters, and ask: How does the author introduce or explain place, time and the core scenario?

It is then that the main action of the play begins. In contrast, the film Gravity , about an astronaut attempting to survive a disaster in space, has an exposition that is quite short. The story begins with Dr. But their spacewalk is interrupted when a missile strike causes a chain reaction of space debris that threatens to destroy much of the spacecraft around the planet.

This missile strike and the space debris chain reaction occurs right at the end of the first scene, meaning the exposition is less than a scene long. Thinking about the exposition literary definition and how it works in storytelling, here are a few tips:. Stories rise and fall on the scale of these values. A love story might begin in the middle of the love vs. Your story may play with several of these values, but whatever your core value is must be presented from the very first scene.

Are you telling an adventure story on the life vs. Then begin with your first life vs. Are you telling a performance story about a team competing to win a major tournament? Then begin with a scene that deals with accomplishment and failure. Are you telling a story about good and evil? Well, show the audience a moment when good confronts evil right at the start. But they can really drag when inexperienced authors make the mistake of thinking the exposition is just to introduce characters, provide backstory, and develop their world.

The exposition is still part of the story, and all story relies on conflict and choice to create plot movement. How do you actually do that though? How do you make sure your exposition has conflict and choice so that it can develop the plot? It is these six elements within every scene that will keep your story moving. That means every scene, even a scene in the exposition, must have exposition, an inciting incident, rising action, a crisis, a climax, and a denouement.

See how, even though this is just a scene in the exposition, it still contains all the elements of dramatic structure? So, too, any scene in your exposition should have this dramatic structure, or else risk feeling like boring info-dumping. First impressions matter. How you introduce your characters is how they will be remembered by the reader throughout the story.