How To Add Exposition In A Story

One of the most common mistakes made when writing a first book is doing what’s called an info dump, which is when you give a ton of background information at once. Info dumping brings the plot to a halt. It can also create the impression that you’re trying to pad the book to compensate for an underdeveloped arc or that you don’t know how to cut excess content.

Of course, background information is often necessary to help the reader understand the character and why the situations they find themselves in are what they are. So how do you add background information in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming?

When I’m editing a book that contains info dumping, this is what I always tell the writer: pieces of exposition should be sprinkled throughout the story in the places where it’s most needed to explain something about the character or circumstances rather than piled on in one chapter. Beginners have a tendency to write an attention-grabbing opening scene and then trail off into exposition that tells the protagonist’s entire life story up until that scene, completely derailing the action in the first chapter. I used to do it too. Sometimes, writers will give only background information about a character in the first few chapters and have no plot whatsoever.

As you become more experienced, you’ll develop stronger book writing processes, and it’ll seem easier to figure out when and how to insert background information. I’ll tell you about the process I’ve developed for ensuring I balance action and exposition.

I first create an outline of all the events that will occur throughout the story. In another document, which we’ll call my “ideas cocument,” I write any and all pieces of background information, internal dialogue, and theme concepts I want to incorporate in the story. Then, I draft one chapter at a time, using the events from my outline as the support structure of each chapter and the parts from my ideas document to fill it in.

MJ Biggs is the author of the novel A Wonderful Place To Die.