Jun 9, 2022 • 3M

Flying Lesson #3 ~ Pt. 3

Exclusive writing lab on exposition integration

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Jennifer Lauck
A safe haven for those writing from life
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Weclome back:

You’ve had a few days with a chapter of mine that is, in my opinion, committing the sin of summary (or exposition, or telling. It’s all the same thing).

Zero Slack Allowed!!!

And I told you I’m not cutting myself any slack either because I know better than to include THAT much exposition…good use or not. And because this is an important lesson to share. ✂️ ✂️ ✂️

I used all that exposition for one reason: I was unconsciously trying to protect myself from the pain of reliving that moment.

You, as the reader, might look at the scene and say, “What? That’s nothing. What’s the big deal?”

But that’s not the point. That was a hard story for me to write. When I sat down to put words to the experience, I was weepy, cold-all-over, and scared. I hated that experience from the past and I hated being in that exam room with Dr. Rick.

Injecting all that exposition into the scene was shoving insulation around my heart. It kept me up in my head, too.

When I went back in and wove all that exposition into the scenes, the result was that I had to feel and that was hard. There were five days of sadness, followed by depression, followed by those chills that come when you re-live trauma.

Paid subscribers, read on with my thanks.

Everyone else, please consider upgrading. The benefits are worth it, plus there’s my undying gratitude! 🤗

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