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Yep, I nailed that one... (a confirmation of an item on a former list)
My current audio book, Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber, reminds me of why I added #18 to my list of Things I Will Never Include in My Original Stories:
Although in Mr. Weber's case, it wasn't within sight of the first page. More like around page 75, if I had to estimate. (Audio book, remember.) But throwing a huge ensemble cast at the reader, with convoluted politics and double-talk and name-dropping and characters who appear only for a few paragraphs to do all this exposition is NOT going to help your reader keep everything straight.
I love thrillers with lots of politicking going on, but when it comes to novels...there MUST be a better way. GAH. I felt like I was reading to a history textbook!
18: Exposition about my setting's history and politics and the wars that shaped it, all delivered within sight of the first page.
Although in Mr. Weber's case, it wasn't within sight of the first page. More like around page 75, if I had to estimate. (Audio book, remember.) But throwing a huge ensemble cast at the reader, with convoluted politics and double-talk and name-dropping and characters who appear only for a few paragraphs to do all this exposition is NOT going to help your reader keep everything straight.
I love thrillers with lots of politicking going on, but when it comes to novels...there MUST be a better way. GAH. I felt like I was reading to a history textbook!