141: Dumping Exposition Dumps
3/6/2025
I just finished Chapter 71: A Friend’s Song. I haven’t entered the last bit onto my tablet yet, so I don’t have an exact word count, but it came to 8 pages. I’m not sure how good this chapter is yet. I know I like certain elements, but I’m not sure how good it is as a whole. I need some time and space so I can read it fresh.
One thing I can say is that my aversion to writing exposition seems to have given way somewhat. And it remains to be seen whether that’s a good thing or not. There are certain facets of their sociology and spirituality that just can’t be conveyed organically through dialogue or action. At least, not concisely. And this last Part: The Fever is fairly dense with spirituality and sociology.
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I just finished transcribing A Friend’s Song, and the metrics come in at 2,382 words and exactly 8 pages. I’m very happy. Almost there.
Present-Day Reflection
10/13/2026
I just finished the final edits on this chapter, A Friend’s Song, a couple weeks ago. I deleted most of the exposition. What I had originally there was thematically suitable for the chapter – talking about the responsibility of age-sets, the Batu views on death, and a lot of description of musical composition within the ritual. It all fit, but it dragged the narrative in obnoxious ways, so it had to go.
I doubt any such world-building exposition will ever enhance a chapter down the road either. So, it will have to remain in the appendix in future volumes. Or in the unread pages within the background notes of this author’s website.
