Original Fic Tip: Use conflict to sneak in exposition
One neat trick to handle exposition is to use conflict. This article is about screenwriting, but its still great advice for any fic.
Conflict is vital to screenwriting no matter what part of the film you’re in, but it can be particularly important when you’re trying to convey exposition. In real life, conflict tends to get us to say the things we don’t want to say. It works that same way in a script. It is very dull for a character to say, “As you know, your brother’s coming to stay.” But, if that character is yelling “Why did you invite your brother? We don’t have any room for him.” Then you have excitement and interest. You’ve also started to define your characters.
Go forth and create!