Four Ways to Handle Exposition in Your Novel

Before you begin writing your novel it is usually a good idea to decide how you are going to handle exposition or the presentation of background information. 

I once edited an historical novel that was full of historical facts, making it quite educational.  The only problem was that all these facts detracted from the story.  It felt more like a history book with some dialogue thrown in. 

Fact is, background material shows up in every story, and you have to decide how you will handle it in yours.  There are four main ways to do this: weave it into a scene, put it between scenes, make it interior monologue, or have the characters explain it.

Weave it into a scene.

Perhaps the best way to handle exposition in novel writing is to find a way of making it part of a scene.  You do this by interspersing background between dialogue and action in a way that makes it unobtrusive.  Handled expertly, this technique allows you to dispense background without the reader hardly noticing.  

Put it between scenes.

Instead of interspersing your background information throughout your scenes, you can devote an entire section to it, as long as you don’t overdo it.  If your background requires more of a mini-essay, this may be the tool you’ll want to use. 

Make it an interior monologue.

Another way of handling background information is by writing it as interior monologue.  This is good for background information that is perhaps unique to a particular character, or would best be told by one particular character.  This technique also allows you to give the same background information through the perspective of different characters. However, you do need to guard against having a character that is so laden with information that the reader becomes bored.

Have the characters explain it.  

This is probably the most dangerous technique if not handled properly.  The key here is to make the conversation sound as natural as possible. Don’t make it sound as though your characters are saying what they are saying simply because you need to convey information and have no other options. It needs to fit the scene as well as the story.  It needs to flow with the story.

One more word of caution: Be careful not to use your novel as an obvious soapbox.  People read fiction primarily to be entertained, not to be preached to.  I don’t mean you can’t have a message or a lesson.  I just mean do not make it look like you wrote your novel for the sole purpose of pushing your point of view onto the masses.  Subtle messages can sometimes make your point the best. 

   

However you decide to handle your exposition, make sure it blends in with the surrounding text and doesn’t scream exposition to the reader.