#Exposition definition plot how to

In short, the author must do some telling in a story, i.e., use some exposition. It is important that a writer knows exactly what to show and summarizes other parts that the reader doesn’t have to know every detail about. While the phrase “show, don’t tell” is perhaps the most repeated piece of advice given to writers, there is some backlash against this.

In the first example, the author presents sensory details that draw the reader in, whereas in the second example the author tells the reader all the pertinent information and the reader doesn’t experience any of the fear for him or herself. One day when he was in the jungle he saw a tiger, and he was very scared.” “Peter was always scared of tigers, and it was a well-known fact that there were many tigers in the jungle where he was traveling.For a brief moment, two golden eyes shine back out at him, and he hears the whisper of paws against decaying leaves. Shivering in the damp air, he strains his eyes against the fading of the light. “He senses movement beyond the dark trees.

#Exposition definition plot how to

It can feel condescending, on the other hand, for an author simply to “tell” the reader what is occurring and how to feel about it rather than let the reader experience it and create his or her own judgments. Readers feel much more involved in a story when they feel they can viscerally imagine the events that are occurring. Most beginning writers come across the phrase “show, don’t tell.” This means that the majority of a story should be written in dramatic action and with sensory detail, rather than explained away to the reader in exposition.

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