In an earlier post for mystery writers, I talked a little bit about the value of resisting the urge to lecture your readers on what you might have learned in the course of researching your story or what you might know from your own in-the-trenches experiences.  The premise behind this advice is that readers--fans of mystery/suspense in particular--generally read in hopes of being entertained rather than educated. A little insider’s insight can be great, vital even, for credibility. But many writers make the mistake of giving their readers far more information than is needed or desirable. This is especially problematic when the information takes the shape of straight narration, which can grind the story to a screeching halt and leave readers feeling lectured to instead of entertained.

This is why the “less is more” guideline is a good one when it comes to exposition and why you should be very discriminating about the length and number of “lessons” you serve up in a mystery or suspense novel. But there are exceptions, of course, and there’s also a lot to be learned from books whose plots demand readers get a in-depth crash course in something reasonably esoteric.

I’m currently reading Lee Child’s Killing Floor, where Jack Reacher has to do a fair amount of sleuthing to figure out who killed his brother. When it becomes clear that a massive currency counter-fitting operation is as the root of the investigation, Reacher decides he needs to learn all he can about how counter-fitting is done and how the operation might plausibly work. There’s a lot of exposition for readers to wade through, the many facets of counter-fitting craft, most of which works really well because Reacher knows basically nothing about it at the start. So we learn as he learns, and it’s actually pretty fascinating. And because the information is broken up and delivered in the context of a variety of live scenes rather than static narrative exposition--Reacher talking to experts, Reacher reading about counter-fitting,  Reacher thinking through what he’s learned and discussing it with his colleagues, Reacher spying on the bad guys to learn aspects of their operation--there’s a very compelling puzzle that comes together piece by piece before a dramatic “a-ha!” moment. It’s all very effective, in large part because all the research surrounds supports a compelling mystery within the mystery and a small but hugely imporant question: where the heck are these guys getting their paper?

That may not sounds like much out of context but it really works in the course of the book because the question cuts to the heart of bigger plot line involving who killed Reacher’s brother and whether or not they will be brought to justice.

So this is one of many great examples of an author who took the time to learn what he needed to learn, made smart decisions about how much readers need to know, and then did a really good job educating readers. One reason it works so well is that Child uses some of the best practices of handling exposition, and to very good effect, including:

•    Making sure the information itself was interesting in and of itself and genuinely useful to readers, not just an indulgence leading to bloat and excess. 

•    Breaking things up and providing the exposition in small bursts rather than all at once. 

•    Imparting the information using dialogue and action in dynamic scenes rather than long passages of static narration.

•    Letting his protagonists be ignorant of the facts and thus plausibly in need of an education himself. 

•    Finding engaging and believable ways to make his protagonist proactive in the effort to learn what he needs to.

•    Connecting the information to a burning plot question that’s entertaining in its own right.

The other thing that Child really has going for him is plenty of taught, exciting physical action in and around the more cerebral aspects of the story necessitating all the exposition. This makes the occasional dip into the more expository material much more welcome and pleasurable thanks to the contrast and variety and the experience of some breathing space for readers as a result.

photo courtesy of flickr user blogefl