Number 8 seems to contradict that one rule I read over and over in screenwriting books, etc. "No cheap exposition." Do I just get it wrong here?

1. Was a delight to read, so entirely gracious, Miss Manners would approve.

6. Was most necessary to read, and remember, make your protagonist suffer.

What a wonderful list from the very lovely Kurt Vonnegut, thank you Scott and Liz.

I love 6. I think it challenges the writer to imagine creative obstacles for your characters.

Don't agree with number 8 at all. Mystery is a powerful tool for engaging the audience. Give just enough information to keep them from being confused, and hold back as much as you can as long as you can, letting the audience discover it all along with the characters.

@The Screenwriting Screenwriter: What I take #8 to mean, at least in terms of screenwriting, is the counterintuitive reality that we want a script reader to know what the story is by the end of Act One: all the major characters, the story conceit, genre, tone, and where it's headed eventually, particularly if it's a story that involves a central Protagonist-Nemesis relationship. The 'mystery' is still out there -- how are we going to get from Point A to Point Z? But there is a benefit in a script reader and moviegoer knowing the perimeters of a story because that generates anticipation about how it's all going to play out.

You see the same dynamic in movie trailers: Show the viewer the basics of what the story is to hook them, not just a random series of visual images, but the heart of the actual narrative.

Like I said counterintuitive for a writer, but essential per screenwriting.