C h a z z W r i t e s . c o m

1. Don’t let your villain explain everything to the captured hero (e.g. “I expect you to die, Mr. Bond, but first let me give you a tour of the rocket base whose deadly payloads are aimed at Topeka!”)

2. Don’t allow your exposition device to go on too long. Your hero should struggle to solve the mystery, a little at a time and with a few red herrings. If your protagonist finds the one person who knows it all–and all is explained in one big info dump—the narrative will lag and it’s a variation of deus ex machina.

3. Avoid overexplaining. Enough said.

Filed under: writing tips, common mistakes, exposition, writing tip