I'll make this short. Do you prefer exposition that is all stated at the beginning or exposition that is trickled in as bits with the progression of the story. Personally, I prefer the exposition trickle as I don't want to bore any potential readers with a wall of text that has no emotional stakes. But some may prefer the exposition dump because once it's over with then it's over with. Really, I'm not sure which is better or if one is better than the other. Though I would like some opinions and counterpoints so I can ease my troubled mind of the subject. Spoiler: Example Exposition Dump: The underworld, a place said to be as vast as the surface with its interconnected system of caverns. However, the underworld was a harsh place compared to the surface. It was near pitch black at all times, except for the stray glowing ores. Luckily, most denizen of the underworld had some form of night vision; usually one that was more potent than those who had the same gift on the surface. And it was near silent at all times as well. This wasn't because of a lack of wildlife, no, although some say the gods would have never allowed it, the underworld still thrived. But the creatures that dwelt within knew to be quite, for if they made the slightest sound then naturally their prey would escape them. Of course, another reason for the silence was to never become the prey of another. Survival, that was what was ingrained in all who were born of the underworld. Even the dark elves or drow, a (barely) more civilized race of the underworld fought hard to survive, only in a different manner. There were five great houses. In the underworld these houses would vie for more power by gaining control of more territory. And that's not all, even the families of these houses fought each other for a higher seat. Of course, these fights were the silent type as well. The poisoning of food, an assassination by dagger. Within the five great houses were lesser houses that leached on the greater ones to survive. Varan, a drow of light gray skin, white hair, and silver eyes had nothing to do with the political intrigue of his people. No, Varan, was a thief and liar who would steal whatever he could and cheat whoever he could. Though he was a thief and liar, Varan, would never call himself one. Instead he'd say he was a liberator or trickster. -----------------------------------------------------------------Exposition Trickle: Varan a dark elf or drow of light gray skin, white hair, and silver eyes was a thief and liar in his spare time, stealing what wasn't his, cheating whoever he could. In any other place Varan may have been prosecuted or reviled, but in Bazaar, a capital city of the drow, he was considered crafty in mind and skilled in body. Yes, any that would complain about or suspect him as the culprit of their latest loss would be laughed at instead of a reassured. For the in the city of Bazaar it an eat or be eaten mentality. However, that's not to say that there was no law; it's just that having proof was the difference of being ridiculed or taken seriously. And, Varan, knew to never leave a trace. When he wasn't playing around, he was a soldier of the night raids; times where groups of drow would invade a foreign settlement for slaves and other valuables. The reason why they were called night raids was because the drow's sight was significantly better at night than during the day. This was because of the way their race adapted to the almost complete pitch-black state of the underworld - a system of interconnected caverns as wide reaching as a continent. But this improved night vision had a cost, making it difficult for drow to see when bathed in full sunlight. So it was a win-win scenario, their enemy would barely be able to see while they could see perfectly. During these night raids there would be two parties. One that would distract at the front gates and another that would slip silently over the walls to take what they really wanted. Varan was a part of the stealth force. In drow race females were born with bigger builds than the males, making them the de facto warriors and members of the distraction force. This was just fine with Varick as he had not much of a taste for blood. When asked as to why he would answer, "A truth thief needs not leave any sign they were there". Although the real answer was simply that he didn't like to kill. He'd never admit it, though, as it would have been seen as a sign of weakness among the drow.
U don't wanna end up with info-dump, and not just cuz it would annoy the readers. Getting it all out in one go may be easier, but seamlessly integrating those bits into the narrative is the hallmark of a truly fine author. Just remember to follow ur story's logic when doing so, and try not to pull anything out of thin air like ur avg. xianxia author.
Perhaps if the author would have a nicely formatted document containing any knowledge one would need for the story for me to read through, and look up any facts about the setting that would otherwise be common knowledge to the characters, I'd be most satisfied. The book can of course, reference and cite the document often. This wouldn't work for a lot of the stories on here however...
That's a fine example! Is it your novel? I'm a bit interested to read more of it.. Btw, I also prefer the settings to be exposed bit by bit.. it makes me imagine more and make me more curious as well..
I think most readers would prefer exposition trickle due to faster pacing. For me, regarding exposition dump, it depends on how interesting the world building is. I can get down in the nitty gritty with the author if I find it fascinating. It just depends. You can also have a good balance between the two, no? I just want to warn you against overdoing the exposition trickle (but from your example, I don't think that'll be a problem). I really love the novel TCF, but many times I get a bit frustrated with too much of the "trickling" effect. The novel is essentially high fantasy, so it can be quite unfamiliar, especially when you mix Eastern and Western concepts together (cultivating/wyverns/aura/elves/etc.). The characters are great, but the world building needs some more work to not confuse readers as much, at least in my opinion. TLDR: Balance between exposition dump and trickle, lean towards trickle for better pacing, but not too much like in TCF. Just my 2 cents.
I'd say a trickle is the best. Although a bit of exposition, in the beginning, is alright too, as long as its brief and interesting. Forcing a ton of info at once on top of the reader is no good.
In my humble opinion, I prefer the exposition trickle as it keeps both the reader and writer always wonder what comes next? and what if this scenario and not the other? thus keeping the story interesting as time goes on. Well, at least I am using the expostion trickle in my novels
As always, it depends. What are you writing, and who for? There isn't a better way, it's the execution that counts. Slower, lore-heavy writing can be a great way to set the scene for a longer story. Case in point, the buildup of Kingkiller Chronicles. People here aren't very patient though. I would let the story I want to tell dictate what sort of exposition to go for.
Exposition dumps are a sign of shoddy writing. As a particulary bad example I could name "SOTR", the fight between the MC and Shura. One chapter of badly written fight, then one chapter of exposition dumping via dialogue. Repeat thrice. Its much better to just let it slowly sink in over the course of entire arcs. Im not telling the readers the reason why the grand master Ophelia, one of the most powerful mages alive, is scared shitless of her master at the smallest sign of anger, or why he is titled "Crucible". Leaving questions open simply draws readers in. As long they get answered eventually, that is. Answers can also be gained indirectly, by showing actions.
Trickle, but I sort of still consider your example a dump, though it's an improvement. I'd rather this information not really come up at all unless the plot requires it immediately. You could show rather than tell a lot of the information you conveyed. E.g. the survival of the fittest mentality of the area through specific instances the character experiences or their caution when going through the area. The weakness to sunlight when your character expresses discomfort when leaving the caverns. The brawnier females by someone observing the general makeup of the troops and maybe a few scrawnier males in the group, etc. It'd feel more organic.
Thanks for the criticism. I really, really appreciate it. In the end I decided to do away with all of it and instead chose something simpler. Spoiler: Example “Stop! Stop! Someone, catch that thief!” shouted a man of greater girth and thinning hair before nearly toppling on the spot. The alley that he just turned out of opened up to the quiet and empty slums. A street littered with garbage and buildings that looked barely stable and well-worn with their prior color washed almost completely away. It was a great contrast compared to the always active state of the rest of the famous capital city, Eldrina. Though the capital was built by humans, all were allowed entry. This was one of the reasons why the population was so high, as most of the other races (dwarves, elves, and tiefling alike) saw the other races to be untrustworthy for some reason or another. Seeing no patrolling officials or at least a sympathetic citizen nearby. The man gave up his long lost hunt, falling on his backside and pondering how foolish he was, how such a thing could happen. ---------- Varan was a dark elf( or drow) of dark gray skin, wide jaw, short white hair, and silver affable eyes. It was dusk. Many merchants and mercenaries were making their way into the city. Varan was sitting on the rail of a balcony, watching this scene with a sly smile and busy mind, thinking up whatever scenario would work best. This was the best part for him. Sure, he enjoyed watching the scene playing out exactly as he had hoped, but coming up with it was more of a challenge, thus more of the fun. “Alright, I think that’ll work.” Varan clapped his hands together and then used them to prop himself on his feet, so he was in a crouching position on the railing, ready to leap into his new day. “Hey! Who the hell are you!?” demanded a woman dressed in a nightgown with brush in hand. “Sorry, Mam,” said the drow huckster who tipped his non-existent hat and then leaped down to the streets below.
What a massive improvement IMO. You jumped right in with something happening, and the details you managed to expose about the world and the sly and athletic nature of Varan was done so much more naturally. I'd personally cut the quoted section and work it in differently, but it pulled me out of the narrative for a much shorter time than the original two versions, so it's a personal preference. One thing to keep in mind, though, is to be conscious of the pacing. Don't go overboard with adding scenes to show your worldbuilding to the point that the plot grinds to a halt. Be deliberate. Maybe there's an underground railroad border crossing or smuggling type deal that Varan has to attack/investigate to show the connected nature of the caverns. Maybe when he emerges from the caverns, he's chasing someone, and fails at dodging or throwing something because he's functioning half blind and the enemy capitalizes on it, not just that he walks out, is uncomfortable, and you explain that it's because of the adaptation. Maybe he really needs the help of a tiefling during the investigation, unfortunately, and they get into an argument when the tiefling insinuates the drows should be thrown out of the city and not understanding why the humans would let all the rabble in. Strive to advance the narrative at all times, even while world building. Do you know what I mean?
I think so. I'm not really sure what my narrative is yet. So far I'm only trying to write the daily life of the roguish Varan. But I do think showcasing the world's elitism, and devotion to religions and the crown will be important to make the fantasy world feel more real. And I will try to account for and not forget Varan's strengths and weaknesses throughout the story. For the story I'm planning for multiple protagonists, and after I introduce all of them during their daily lives, I plan to have them meet and go on an epic quest. I really, really want to write a story about a group of adventurers, being inspired by D&D and high fantasy novels like the lord of the rings.
That's fine. I'd say to just keep things relevant. No need to get into how everyone else feels devotion, but instead on how it intersects with Varan's life. I don't go about my day thinking about devout Mormons, for example, but I would if they come knocking at my door. If Varan isn't religious or loyal to the crown, maybe he sets up a con to prey on the people who are, but he's hesitant despite his flawless plan since he'd go from small time rogue to public enemy #1. Him living his daily life can be the narrative. Good luck writing your adventure!
Although people might not agree, but I think doing it as a trickle is objectively better. Trickles of exposition are usually introduced within their own context, which makes it easier to understand. Slowly building up knowledge of the world makes it easier to remember. You never break the flow of the story, disrupting the readers' immersion. As you introduce information as it becomes relevant, you are only introducing information that is relevant. A lot of world building and information may be neat and unique, but that doesn't mean the reader necessarily needs to know it. There's "kill your darlings", but then there's also "keep your darlings in a folder for you to refer back to when you need it and to maintain your own internal consistency, but you don't need to show it off to every captive audience you get". Example. Having the author or narrator pause the story to explain how magic worked in the world would break the story's flow, probably be kind of confusing, and very uninteresting to read. Having the character be in a situation where they have to use magic, and then having the character or author describe the sensation of using magic within that moment would be both more interesting to read and would give an in-the-moment example of how it worked and what the scope of the effect might be. Might there be more information about magic that would go unexplained by just focusing on this one instance of how it's being used and to what end? Yes. But unless you plan to never ever write a scene with magic ever again, it's not like you won't get a chance to further delve into that. And if you do end up never ever writing a scene with magic ever again, well, all that information ended up not being very important to know at all in the end, no matter how painstakingly you thought it out and designed it to work.