HISTORICAL FICTION + EXPOSITION = BORING

We’ve never lived in the 15^th century or the even the 18^th century so whatever we know about those times we’ve researched through books, online or at the movies. When we see a film of Julius Caesar wearing a watch we know immediately that it’s a production error. It’s an anachronism; watches didn’t come into common usage until the early 20^th century.

So we know the glaringly obvious but what about other aspects of our historical fiction? What are our characters wearing and eating and how are they travelling? More importantly, how do we describe these things that set the scene without overloading the reader or making the character a complete bore?

It’s called narrative exposition and like explosives needs to be handled carefully. It’s about giving enough information about the setting, the historical context and the characters at the right time and the right place in the story. Background facts and figures are boring. Excuse me, your research is showing!

Think of a movie, the camera pans to the opening scene, we see paw prints in the snow and then the wolf and immediately know there’s going to be trouble. In three seconds the story has started. There hasn’t been a screen roll of information setting the scene, we’re there with the wolf and waiting for the next part of the action.

Long paragraphs of explanation of why or how a character is motivated reeks of telling. As a reader I’m bogged down and tempted to take a peek at the following pages to see when the action starts again. Do I really need to know all this background? Is it important to the outcome of the story?

The secret to inserting back story and important historical information is to wait until it’s absolutely needed. The tale cannot continue without knowing this vital piece of information. Keep it brief, keep it on point and double check your sources unless you have a time travel machine and can find out for yourself.