I once explained my "fondue theory of exposition" to a new writer who was...not good...at exposition. Exposition is like dry bread: the only way you can get people to chew and swallow it is to cut it up into small chunks and dip it in melted cheese. But it has to be good cheese and a nice dry white wine.
Physical descriptions of people should be used extremely sparingly if at all IMHO. POV characters should never describe themselves! Except maybe obliquely--"She was taller than I was, but then again most people were," tells you that the POV character is short, which is acceptable if shortness is important to his or her character. Eye color is never important unless the character's father is questioning the character's paternity on the basis of it.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2011-09-18 02:54 am (UTC)Physical descriptions of people should be used extremely sparingly if at all IMHO. POV characters should never describe themselves! Except maybe obliquely--"She was taller than I was, but then again most people were," tells you that the POV character is short, which is acceptable if shortness is important to his or her character. Eye color is never important unless the character's father is questioning the character's paternity on the basis of it.