Exposition, or No Exposition?

Here's an argument: in an original novel, you need to provide exposition for your protagonists, because your readers don't know who your characters are.

However, in fan fiction, you are using characters that the reader most likely has some understanding of, based on the source material.

In a non-AU fic, why even bother with "Ruby was a young huntress in training at Beacon Academy, a school for training, etc." Even with a more eloquent example, why bother with explaining what Arkham Asylum is or how Ranma's curse functions or how Harry got his scar? A fan fiction author shouldn't waste time explaining the obvious.

But, since these things are vital to these characters, shouldn't you? Should there be a paragraph or two where the main character reflects on these moments, an introductory piece where you muse on "the world, the setting, how this character got here, what they wear"?

Or will it simply come off as an Info Dump, because the reader is already familiar with the franchise and the author shouldn't waste any time explaining the The Stations of the Canon or anything of the sort. Doesn't this alienate readers who aren't necessarily hardcore fans of a work?

edited 18th Jun '14 8:55:13 PM by FOFD

If it's a crossover, then definitely keep your exposition, as you might have readers who are familiar with one work, but not the other.

Also, I think that keeping in exposition can help readers who could use a refresher, but as a favor to those that have it down already, perhaps cover it in a different way than canon did.

I usually add it in. It can help to ground the reader to your interpretation of the character and/or setting. Arkham Asylum has been a lot of things in a lot of different continuities, and setting out how it's being used in your story can be worth the extra words. It also depends on how long your fanfic is though; if it's only a few thousand words, it makes little sense to spend a tenth of your story in saying things that can be assumed.

As with most exposition, it's really a matter of how well you do it.

The assumption that of course, I already know everything I could possibly need to know about the source material is one of the main reasons I generally don't like fanfic.

In fanfic, the rule should be "Show, Don't Tell or assume prior knowledge". And, again, how much needs to be shown or told depends on how long the fic is and/or what type of a fic it is. If it's a Fix Fic or other For Want types, making a Discontinuity Nod towards the Stations of the Canon that would not logically show up on this course would be a good idea. If it's a non-crossover WAFF/Ship Fic without much plot, then you can usually presume knowledge of physical attributes.

edited 19th Jun '14 11:59:36 AM by DonaldthePotholer

The reader should be aware of the plot relevant information that the Point of View Character or Characters know. I tend to use Main Characters that aren't all that informed, like how shonen manga use braindead fools, so that I can have someone else exposit to them, or even use the 'Smart' characters to explain things to the 'dumb' characters.

Never assume the reader knows everything he might need to know to understand your fic, because more often than not, they might have a different interpretation or might have missed or noticed something you didn't or might, one way or another, have a different opinion of something because of their own different values.

To paraphrase the Nostalgia Critic: Explain, author. Just. Ex. PLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN. Ahem.

The trick is finding a way to do so that's not annoying, boring or insulting to the reader. I'm generally against doing exposition through the narration unless you're explicitly having a story that is being told within the story, and as such the 'narrator' is actually a character in-story.

How you exposit also makes a difference. Case in point? I hate "As you know, Bob" forms of exposition, so when I need to present plot information in my stories, I try to have it so at least one character in a scene doesn't actually know, that way the reader and character learn at the same time.

So, in my series, Antipode, Riku didn't initially know about the Organization or their plans even though someone who had played KH 2 would likely know. In this case, it was pertinent for Riku to learn, so I framed it in a way where he was presented with new info and reacted accordingly.

But that's just one form of exposition. In-narration exposition can work, but I think execution is key. And you don't want it to take up 80% of your chapter, either.