Activity

Hey, @edmund-lloyd-fletcher! I understand the struggle. There are times when recapping is inevitable, even helpful, but lengthy introductions do tend to drag down the story and make the reader lose interest. Try to find a happy medium. Maybe weave in the details gradually. Even adding a few previously unknown facts could help retain interest in both camps of readers.

If your story switches between different points of view, perhaps write from the perspective of a character who doesn’t know the others very well. Old readers will be interested to see his point of view, and you’ll be able to introduce new readers to your whole cast.

In my case, the characters I was reintroducing had stepped off the scene for a while and had adventures of their own. Because their transformation was new even to the protagonist, I was able to make the points that I did recap count.