Exposé (literature)

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An exposé or synopsis is a forward-looking synopsis of a literary work, it should present the basic idea and the rough course of action. It is usually only a few pages long and contains neither dialog nor details. It outlines the main characters or reproduces the thematic baseline of a book. Exposés play a major role in publishing . A publisher has an author submit the synopsis of a novel in order to decide whether the novel should be included in the planning. An exposé therefore usually describes the content and main idea of ​​a work that does not yet exist.

Action outline: Exposé

There are writers who, before writing their story, prepare a detailed plot outline in which the development of the processes is marked step by step. But there are also writers who only sketch out the decisive phases of the plot in order to at least have a rough outline of the tension in the story.

Basic scheme: introduction (A), middle section (B), conclusion (C);

A) Starting position: outlines the situation from which the action should proceed (starting situation), introduces the main characters (main character and opponent), describes the type and circumstances of the entanglements;

B) Development of the action up to the crisis: in the main part of the action, the entanglements are executed in detail and driven to a climax ( crisis ).

C) Detangling: should ultimately contain the solution

Exposé in the sequel story

In larger works such as serial stories that can not alone by an author be overcome, a division of labor can exist in the form that in the first stage, a framework for a large section (such. As the next 100 publications) will be developed (series Exposé ), which is broken down into the respective planned publication in the second step. This results in an episode exposé for each issue. In addition to the description of the action section, it contains a description of the start and end situation as well as additional information on main characters and important action elements (places, objects) in order to ensure a consistent representation. Another author works out the actual edition of the series on this basis. The series synopsis can be in a non-linear form (z. B. on index cards, now more in electronic form, such as a wiki), if significant events in each episode influence on the future to be able to easily add to it in the course of the series continuity have .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. This is how Perry Rhodan NEO and Perry Rhodan work .

literature

  • Hans Peter Roentgen: Three pages for an exposé [writing guide]. Siebenverlag, Fischbachtal 2010, ISBN 978-3-940235-90-9 .
  • Hans Peter Roentgen: Four Pages for a Hallelujah [writing guide]. 4th edition, Siebenverlag, Fischbachtal 2008, ISBN 978-3-940235-36-7 .
  • Andreas A. Reil: Exposé, screenplay & shooting script. The digital preproduction workflow with script programs. Mediabook, Stein-Bockenheim 2008, ISBN 978-3-937708-55-3 .