Lesson 5: Exposition

Reading Exercise

Go to your bookshelves and pull out five of your favorite novels. Read the opening pages of each and answer these questions for each:

  • Does the story start with exposition, or does it start with in-scene?
  • If it starts in-scene, does it start with action, dialogue, or description?
  • If it starts with exposition, identify the point at which the author first brings the reader into a scene. And is that entry into the scene happen through action, dialogue, or description?