Characterization and Exposition

My, these are big words. I can see Mr. Rogers, entering his little house, taking off his jacket and replacing it with his sweater. He looks at the camera and says, "Can you spell characterization?" Um…no. Not without my spell-check.

How is a young author supposed to know what to do with these two words? They sound scary. First, let me give you some simple definitions.

Characterization – The process of developing and portraying a character. act.vtheatre.net/dict.html

Exposition – The first act of a dramatic structure, in which the main conflict and characters are "exposed" or revealed. Also, any information about the characters, conflict or world of the play. www.playwriting101.com/glossary

It's apropos, then, for SEFFW to put these two together. When introducing a new character, how much exposition should we use to reveal information about that character? The book lists the problems thus:
1. Ye age old issue of "Show vs. Tell".
2. Ye other age old issue of stopping the story cold. "It's a form of telling that is almost certain to make your readers aware that you the writer are hard at work." (p. 24, 26) ...OUCH!

However, a way to do it is to add "a few concrete, idiomatic details to jump-start your readers' imaginations."
Rather than saying:
     The elderly rich woman entered the party.
How about:
     The elderly woman wore a fox stole, expensive jewelry, and a nose tweaked in a permanent upward position as she entered the party.

This tells the reader that not only is she rich, she's probably a snob. This, obviously would be from another character's POV. However, in using this little bit of exposition (exposing this woman's character), it's not intrusive, and it gives the reader something to build on. Did I mention what kind of dress she had on? She's elderly, so her hair is probably gray, but what kind of hairstyle does she have? I'll bet your imaginations dressed her differently than mine did, but that's okay, because it lets you portray her in a way that's comfortable for you.

SEFFW goes on to say, "But when it comes to your characters' personalities, it's much more engaging to have these emerge from character action, reaction, interior monologue, and dialogue than from description." (p. 25) The fun thing is, using my example above, taking this elderly rich woman and furthering her personality by having her interact with another character.
Consider this:
     Stacy shook Mrs. Farnsworthy's hand. "How do you do, my dear," the woman said with a thick Boston accent. "I'm afraid you'll have to step closer. You see, I broke my glasses and can only see out of the bottom lens of my reading spectacles." Stacy complied. "My, you're a pretty girl."

Through this interaction, we see that Mrs. Farnsworthy isn't a snob at all, she's just near-sighted. But, with the little bit I gave you at the beginning of the scene--the exposition of her character--you could see her clearly before I launched into dialogue.

Now, I could give a narrative summary of Stacy at this point, but it's more effective to sketch her out thus:
     Stacy blushed. How she wanted to please the matronly woman. Afterall, she had her sights set on Nathan Farnsworthy, and the woman standing before her could someday become her mother-in-law.

I've gone into interior thought with Stacy to give the reader an insight into why Stacy blushed. I still, however, haven't let the reader know whether Stacy is a scheming socialite or if she is truly in love with the young Mr. Farnsworthy. I can slowly leak this information, especially if this is a mystery, or I can continue with Nathan walking into the room and either through dialogue or more interior thought, let the reader know exactly what Stacy's motives are. If I had given a narrative summary on Stacy, I would have told the reader what they would later discover for themselves through Stacy's dialogue and actions. Cool, huh?

SEFFW says to be careful "when you sum up your characters, you risk defining them to the point that they're boxed in by the characterization with no room to grow." (p.25) Maybe Stacy is a conniving socialite, and if I describe her like that, that's the box she'd be in for the rest of the story. What if she actually fell in love with Nathan? I could do more summary, which would bog down the story, or I could reveal that by showing it. But would the reader believe her if they already have her in that box? SEFFW suggests to "allow your readers to get to know your characters gradually, each reader will interpret them in his or her own way, thus getting a deeper sense of who your characters are than you could ever convey in a summary." (p.26)



Flashback
or
What I learned from Back to the Future II

Has anyone seen Back to the Future II? If I were reading the story in novel form, I'd come away with whip-lash. The story starts out in the present, then it whips to the future, then it whips to the past, then back and forth between all three...ping-ping-ping. Great Scott! This is often what happens in books heavy with flashbacks and flash forwards. While it works in movie form, (yes, my name is Kathy and I'm a Back-to-the-Futureaholic,) I'd be very frustrated if I found it in a book.

SEFFW suggests that if your story gets too bogged down with the past, let some of the past go. Some of it may not be needed, or you may be able to bring it out someway in the present. (p. 28)

We call this an info dump. I don't know about you, but my tiny brain can only process so much at a time. If I need to know the history of a character, it's best to give only the details I need as a reader in that particular scene, and most of it in showing form. (That way the book doesn't land on the opposite wall.)



Establishing a Character

SEFFW suggests three ways this can be accomplished gradually and unobtrusively.
1. Through another POV
2. Through dialogue and action
3. Through the character's POV (p. 29)

Remember the interaction between Stacy and Mrs. Farnsworthy? We thought we knew the elderly woman through Stacy's POV, but we learned more about her through the dialogue. Here's part 2 of that scene:
     Nathan sauntered into the room and Stacy's gaze latched onto him, as if he were a lighthouse in a turbulent sea.
     "Ah, there's my Nathan," the woman purred. "Some women think they can get close to me by dating my son." Mrs. Farnsworthy's near-sighted glare pinned Stacy to the wall. "They never succeed."

And you thought Mrs. Farnsworthy was just a nice old woman with astigmatism. Hmm, maybe she is...Perhaps there's more to this woman than meets Stacy's POV. We can bring that out by possibly using a short flashback to reveal some history, or by further interaction of the characters. Expose a little each time the reader turns a page.

And what about Nathan? All we know of the man is that he saunters and that his mother dotes on him. SEFFW warns that exposition can be obtrusive even if given in dialogue. What if Mrs. Farnsworthy told Stacy:
     "Funny thing about my Nathan. His father never loved him, and that's why I've taken all the responsibility on my shoulders to make him the man he should become. I enrolled him in the best school, where he graduated top of his class in business management. Now, we can get rid of his father and he can take over the family business."

WHOA! Major dumping here. Be careful not to have your characters say anything that's not normal conversation. If you really want your reader to know Nathan's past, it must be given in a different, and much slower way.


Establishing a New Culture

A person isn't the only thing you may have to characterize. The same techniques can be used for exposing a new culture, i.e. a fantasy world, a little known geographical culture, someone's job, etc. In my example, I'm exposing the reader to the inside life of the wealthy. How do I paint that world for the reader? I could:
1. Have Stacy glance around the room, noting the genuine crystal chandelier and the gold-gilded draperies--showing the world through Stacy's POV.
2. Have Mrs. Farnsworthy adjust her diamond necklace repeatedly so it will catch the light just so--showing the world through action.
2. Have the sauntering Nathan discuss the dreary parties and how they spent way too much on food--showing the world through dialogue.

Backdrop can be a character all it's own. When we paint the world for our readers, we're introducing them to something with a pulse. The courtroom must be alive with drama. The futuristic world must breathe on it's own. And Mrs. Farnsworthy's party must physically crush Stacy with it's decadence.

Here are two more definitions. I hope after reading about characterization and exposition, you can fully understand what they are and how to use them.

Characterization - …the method used by a writer to develop a character. The method includes (1) showing the character's appearance, (2) displaying the character's actions, (3) revealing the character's thoughts, (4) letting the character speak, and (5) getting the reactions of others. classes.berklee.edu/llanday/resources/terms.htm

Exposition - "...a narrative device, often used at the beginning of a work, that provides necessary background information about the characters and their circumstances. Exposition explains what has gone on before, the relationships between characters, the development of a theme, and the introduction of a conflict." (Meyer). www.cocc.edu/lisal/literaryterms/d_h.htm



FUNcercizes:
1. Read chapter 2 if you haven't already.
2. Look at your wip:
    a. Is there long snatches of history that can be better explained through dialogue, (inner or outer)?
    b. Are there places where, especially when introducing a new character, you tend to tell the reader what they look like, rather than letting them figure it out on their own through dialogue or another character's POV?
    c. In your backdrop are you telling too much or not enough? How can you show the culture in which your character lives without long exposition?
3. If you don't have a wip started, take my character, Nathan Farnsworthy. Knowing what you do about him thus far through the POVs of his mother and Stacy, go into his POV and develop his character the way you think it should go. You can use his inner dialogue, outer dialogue, or even take a stab at a flashback. But be careful not to expose his character too much. This is only the first scene, you know.

Use the comment feature after this article and let me know how you're doing. We are much too quiet, and I don't know if you're working hard or hardly working! Hey, that cliche works there, doesn't it?


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For further definitions of characterization and exposition go to the following links:

Characterization:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2003-33,GGLD:en&oi=defmore&defl=en&q=define:characterization

Exposition:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2003-33,GGLD:en&oi=defmore&defl=en&q=define:exposition