Exposition in dialogue

Also called

"As you know"

BeginnerDialogue & voiceReference

Backstory or world facts spoken aloud — works when conflict forces the speech, not when recapping for the reader.

Characters explain facts for the reader — easy to spot, hard to do well. Dialogue craft lives in subtext, rhythm, and idiolect — not only in clever lines.

As a technique, it is a deliberate move — judge it by effect in context, not by blanket ban.

In revision, ask whether the move earns its place in this scene — techniques work when they change reader understanding or feeling.

Why it matters

Exposition in dialogue targets how speech and voice work — common flat-dialogue fixes start with naming the problem.

Common pitfalls

Two characters recapping what both already know.
Using exposition in dialogue as a label without checking whether the page actually performs the job.
Letting exposition in dialogue crowd out scene goal, conflict, or change at the end of the unit.

Example only

Instead of naming the move, dramatize it: show the choice that makes exposition in dialogue visible on the page.

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Exposition in dialogue

Also called

"As you know"

BeginnerDialogue & voiceReference

Backstory or world facts spoken aloud — works when conflict forces the speech, not when recapping for the reader.

Characters explain facts for the reader — easy to spot, hard to do well. Dialogue craft lives in subtext, rhythm, and idiolect — not only in clever lines.

As a technique, it is a deliberate move — judge it by effect in context, not by blanket ban.

In revision, ask whether the move earns its place in this scene — techniques work when they change reader understanding or feeling.

Why it matters

Exposition in dialogue targets how speech and voice work — common flat-dialogue fixes start with naming the problem.

Common pitfalls

Two characters recapping what both already know.
Using exposition in dialogue as a label without checking whether the page actually performs the job.
Letting exposition in dialogue crowd out scene goal, conflict, or change at the end of the unit.

Example only

Instead of naming the move, dramatize it: show the choice that makes exposition in dialogue visible on the page.