exposition.docx

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Nonfiction exposition

[edit] Types of expository writing

Sequence writing lists, events or steps in chronological order. Descriptive essays use the senses of sight, smell, touch, hearing, and taste to provide thereader with a mental image or feeling about the subject. Classification writing uses an organizational strategy to arrange groups of objects or

ideas according to a common theme. Comparison writing shows the similarities and differences between two or more

subjects. Cause-and-effect writing, also known as analysis, identifies the reasons for an event or

situation.

[edit] Exposition in fiction

[edit] Exposition as a fiction-writing mode

Within the context of fiction, exposition is the fiction-writing mode for conveying information.According to Robert Kernen, "Exposition can be one of the most effective ways of creating and

increasing the drama in your story. It can also be the quickest way to kill a plot's momentum andget your story bogged down in detail. Too much exposition, or too much at one time, canseriously derail a story and be frustrating to the reader or viewer eager for a story to either get

moving or move on." (Kernen 1999, p. 57)

Exposition in fiction may be delivered through various means. As noted by Ansen Dibell, the

simplest way is to just place the information between scenes as the all-seeing, all-knowing (butimpersonal and invisible) narrator.(Dibell 1988, p. 51) Jessica Page Morrell has observed that

various devices, such as trial transcriptions, newspaper clippings, letters, and diaries may be usedto convey information.(Morrell 2006, p. 94) Another means of delivering information is through

a character, either as dialogue or through the character's thoughts.(Dibell 1988, p. 51-52)

[edit] Information dump

When the presentation of information in fiction becomes wordy, it is sometimes referred to as an

"information dump," "exposition dump," or "plot dump." Information dumps expressed bycharacters in dialogue ormonologue are sometimes referred to as "idiot lectures."

Information dumps are sometimes placed at the beginning of stories as a means of establishingthe premise of the plot. In serial television drama, exposition in individual episodes often appears

as a brief montage of scenes from earlier episodes, prefaced with the phrase "Previously on[name of series]." Villain speech is a specific form of exposition in which the villain describes

his sinister plans to a helpless hero, often prefacing his exposition with the comment that it can't

hurt to divulge the plan, since the hero will be dead soon anyway (or the plan will be impossibleto stop in the short time available). The villain's motivation sometimes includes his desire tohave his cleverness admired by the character most capable of appreciating it. Examples include

Comic booksupervillains and villains in James Bond movies.

In television, information dumps are common in sit-coms with the introduction of non-recurringcharacters which drive the comedic plot of a particular episode. An example would be the use of


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the narrator in Arrested Developmentto sum up the revelations and inner thoughts of charactersin order to keep the viewer tuned to the plot.

In television sketch comedy, which borrows from the tradition ofvaudeville comedy, expositionin the most exagerated sense is used for outrageous comedic effect.

Stories which are concerned with the unearthing of a secret past sometimes include lengthyexposition sequences. These may include large quantities of exposition, complete with theorizing

about the implications of the information. Examples include:

Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum

[edit] Parodies of information dump

The Austin Powers film series has a character named Basil Exposition whose job was to

repeatedly plot dump as a parody of the process in movies with serious plots.

The series Mystery Science Theater 3000 always mocked movies who made blatant use of this

practice. For example, in Parts: The Clonus Horror, there is a scene where a character views avideotape that explans the organization's origins and purpose in painstaking detail, basically

providing all of the necessary exposition in one fell swoop. Tom Servo quips, "Good thing hewandered into the Department of Backstory!" At the beginning of another MST3k movie, Riding

with Death, an extra consults a computer file containing information about the movie'sprotagonist for completely unexplained reasons (other than providing exposition). Once again,

Servo notes this by referring to the computer as the "Backstory Database".

Plot dumps are parodied in the movie Spaceballs when Colonel Sandurz explains a plan to Dark

Helmet, though Dark Helmet should have already known the plan. Dark Helmet then faces thecamera and, breaking the fourth wall, asks the audience "Everybody got that?" to parody the true

purpose of the plot dump.

The "villain speech" is criticized in the film LastAction Hero, where the police traitor, JohnPractice, reveals his evil plan to Jack Slater and Danny, to which the latter retorts that it's a

classic mistake made by villains. Also, in The Incredibles, several characters negatively denote"monologing" as a villain's speech that goes on for too long and distracts him from realizing the

superhero is escaping.

Several villains in the Nickelodeon series Danny Phantom have been prone to plot dumping,

especially the recurring technology ghost, Nicolai Technus. This is made into a running gag inthe episode "Identity Crisis." In that episode, Technus claims to have upgraded himself, one of

the advantages of the upgrade being that he would no longer shout his nefarious plot into the sky.He was able to maintain this for most of the episode (at one point even criticizing Danny for

shouting something into the air himself), but eventually dictates his plot to himself near victory,immediately afterwards saying, "Nobody heard that, right?"

In the stage musical Urinetown, the first song is in fact titled "Too Much Exposition" during

which the Narrator and Little Sally explain about the drought that caused the water shortage, andin turn, the end of private bathrooms. While discussing the issue Officer Lockstock finally stops

Little Sally before she reveals too much because "nothing can kill a show like too muchexposition." Really! ("What about bad subject matter?" she argues. "Or a bad title? That can kill

a show pretty good.")


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In an episode of "Spongebob Squarepants," Mr. Krabs returns from a vacation trip and the word"exposition" is displayed over his head. His location was a mystery during the entire episode,

this revelation added context to the plotline.

[edit] Incluing

Incluing is a technique ofworld building, in which the reader is gradually exposed tobackground information about the world in which a story is set. The idea is to clue the readersinto the world the author is building, without them being aware of it.

This in opposition to infodumping, where a concentrated amount of background material is givenall at once in the story, often in the form of a conversation between two characters, both of whom

should already know the material under discussion. (The so-called As you know, Bobconversation.)

Both incluing and infodumping are forms ofexposition and are frequently used in science fictionand fantasy, genres where the author has the task to make the reader believe in a world that does

not exist. Writers in other genres have less use for these techniques, as they can often depend onthe reader's familiarity with the "real world".

Incluing can be done in a number of ways: through conversation between characters, through

background details or by establishing scenes where a character is followed through daily life.One famous example of incluing is the door dilated, a phrase created by Robert A. Heinlein and

used in several of his stories and novels. In real life, few doors (if any) open like pupils; theoffhand mention establishes the familiarity of this strange thing, and does not call attention to

itself.

The word incluing is attributed to fantasy and science fiction authorJo Walton[1]. She defined it

as "the process of scattering information seamlessly through the text, as opposed to stopping thestory to impart the information."

[2]

[edit] See also Rhetorical modes Expository writing Fiction-writing modes

[edit] Further reading Dibell, Ansen (1988). Plot. Cincinnati, OH: Writers Digest Books. ISBN 0898793033. Kernen, Robert (1999). Building Better Plots. Cincinnati, OH: Writers Digest Books.

ISBN 0898799031. Morrell, Jessica Page (2006). Between the Lines: Master the Subtle Elements ofFiction

Writing. Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books. ISBN

978-1-58297-393-7.[edit] Notes

1. ^http://www.lshelby.com/rasfcFAQ.htmlretrieved 17 May 20072. ^http://papersky.livejournal.com/324603.html retrieved 17 May 2007

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Fiction

Character Protagonist Antagonist Foil character

PlotDramatic structure:Exposition Conflict Rising action Climax (narrative)

Falling action Dnouement Plot device Subplot

Setting Utopia Dystopia Fictional universe Fictional location Fictional country

Theme Motif

StyleNarrative mode Tone Symbolism Imagery Diction Suspension of disbeliefLiterary technique

FormNovel Novella Short story Flash fiction Play Fable Fairy tale Poetry

Screenplay

GenreAdventure Comic Crime Fantasy Historical HorrorMystery Philosophical

Political Romance Saga Satire Science ThrillerUrban

Literature

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