15. Midwinter Tail by Sophie Kelly
Well, kids, this time we learn about the use of exposition. Basically, exposition is where characters explain things like their back stories (their pasts before the book began), their motives, the way their histories intertwine, etc.
Exposition exsists for a reason: to explain what the reader will need to understand in order to follow the story in its entirety. In other words, the characters might believe that they exist beyond the page - before page one - but this is not so in the mind of the reader. Using exposition helps the reader catch up on the lives of the characters. Using it well help the writer focus on the pertinent plot points rather than having to tell of every moment of a character's existance. This focus helps the action of the story keep moving along a good pace, keeping the reader interested and giving incentive to finish reading the story.
Good writers know how to incorporate exposition into the narrative and keep the plot moving. Other writers have trouble with this concept. This author in particular is overly fond of exposition. She keeps interrupting the plot to explain the backstory. These frequent, long-winded tangents derail the narrative and distract the reader no end. The effect of these interruptions is like watching a television show with commercial breaks that are so frequent and so long that the viewer forgets what show is on and eventually changes the channel. Or it could easily be likened to a live play where the actors are only allowed to say one or two lines before the lights on stage dim and out comes a narrator to stand at front stage center in a spotlight explaining the innermost thoughts and motivations of the characters. Skillful playwrights work harder than this and give the audience a play whose characters reveal their motives themselves, rather than relying on a non-entity to interrupt the action to explain things to the audience. Competant writers know that most audiences can figure out what's explained by the characters without needed such information further simplified at the cost of the story being told.
Someday, this particular writer may develop the skills needed to weave the exposition into the narrative in a fashion that is not so disjointed, but this particular book does not give the reader such a coherent experience as further improvement of Sophie Kelly's craft may eventually provide. We can only hope for better books in the future.
- copyright 2017 Super Book Nerd
Next: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman