I'd like to start by saying that in this case "exposition" isn't used as the story introduction, but as the introduction to the details of a world (i.e. a magic system). Perhaps "Handling the Explanation" would be a better title.
I started reading The Way of Shadows a few days ago and I'm on page 467. I'm not about to point out all the things I dislike about it, but I'm focusing on the way Brent Weeks explains things to the reader.
I maintain it is very badly done.
At one point the MC is told how magic works by a priestess and it is grossly unnatural in the conversation. She goes off for almost two pages explaining everything.
I've read three monologues explaining to the reader how this works, and how that works, and they are incredibly out of place. And don't even get me started on Count Drake's six and a half page soliloquy on his past…
Anyways, this book made me notice just how badly this form of exposition can be done. I suppose the trick is to teach the reader without them ever noticing they're being taught.
By that logic I'd guess the question posed by this thread is How do you handle exposition? What sorts of tips/guidelines do you follow when introducing a magic system or something like that?
I think for me I have to resist giving away too much at once, and making sure it's smooth. On the other hand I've never written a massive explanation like Mr. Weeks has.
Edit: There are many threads on info-dumps, but I think this idea- while overlapping- isn't the same. Instead of a difference between exposition and infodump, I'm concerned with handling it. Especially with the technical aspects of a magic system.
I just want to bring up Gardens of the Moon here, because I remembered Captain Ganoes Paran's first encounter with a Warren. Keeping in his PoV, he knew next to nothing about them. And even if he didn't give the reader any information about it, he shone light on the system and paved the way for more. On a side note I think Tattersall did a fantastic job explaining how Warrens work, partially because she didn't explain it at all.
I started reading The Way of Shadows a few days ago and I'm on page 467. I'm not about to point out all the things I dislike about it, but I'm focusing on the way Brent Weeks explains things to the reader.
I maintain it is very badly done.
At one point the MC is told how magic works by a priestess and it is grossly unnatural in the conversation. She goes off for almost two pages explaining everything.
I've read three monologues explaining to the reader how this works, and how that works, and they are incredibly out of place. And don't even get me started on Count Drake's six and a half page soliloquy on his past…
Anyways, this book made me notice just how badly this form of exposition can be done. I suppose the trick is to teach the reader without them ever noticing they're being taught.
By that logic I'd guess the question posed by this thread is How do you handle exposition? What sorts of tips/guidelines do you follow when introducing a magic system or something like that?
I think for me I have to resist giving away too much at once, and making sure it's smooth. On the other hand I've never written a massive explanation like Mr. Weeks has.
Edit: There are many threads on info-dumps, but I think this idea- while overlapping- isn't the same. Instead of a difference between exposition and infodump, I'm concerned with handling it. Especially with the technical aspects of a magic system.
I just want to bring up Gardens of the Moon here, because I remembered Captain Ganoes Paran's first encounter with a Warren. Keeping in his PoV, he knew next to nothing about them. And even if he didn't give the reader any information about it, he shone light on the system and paved the way for more. On a side note I think Tattersall did a fantastic job explaining how Warrens work, partially because she didn't explain it at all.
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