Warning: No Info Dumping, Part 1

Let’s talk about some do’s anLet’s talk about some do’s and don’t’s of info-dumping.

I try to find ways to include how things work in my sci-fi and fantasy stories, but I’m not always sure I avoid info-dumping. I try to. But it’s an easy trap to fall into, especially as a speculative fiction writer.

But I always see info-dumping in the novels I read and listen to. Just the other day, I was listening to an ebook of a fantasy novel and thought, “Wow, there’s a lot of info-dumping for the last few minutes.” It didn’t ruin the story, but it made me wonder: What are ways to share the background of my story without overwhelming readers?

So, I did a little exploration.

What is info-dumping?

“I just have to tell everything now!”

It refers to a writer who chucks every bit of background, worldbuilding, and story set-up into a lengthy exposition. He might be afraid the reader won’t understand the story without it. Or he might just be showing off. But regardless, info-dumping creates a scenario where the reader might get bored and quit the story.

Where does it show up?

I believe info-dumping is more prevalent in certain categories of novels: science fiction, fantasy, or horror. However, it happens in every genre. 

Within a story, it may show up in the following areas:

• Worldbuilding: every aspect of politics, history, and customs of a country, culture, or alien planet all at once!
• Character: every bit of backstory, physical description, and mannerisms all at once!
• Emotions: over-explaining every aspect of what a character is feeling all at once!
• Monologue: over-explaining every aspect of what a character is thinking all at once!

So, before I go any further, I want to encourage the writer to info-dump. Yes, I said it. Info-dumping is allowed in the first few drafts. My recommendation is for the writer to get it out of their system. Then, do the following. Or don’t do the following:

How can the writer avoid info-dumping? Some Do’s and Don’t’s

• Play with Dialogue
  • Don’t: “As you know Bob . . .” I’ve come across this term a lot over the years, and I’ve done it myself. I’ve used a conversation between two characters to sneak in some information. As a result, it sounded stilted and fake. Like a bad commercial. Instead . . .
  • Do: Use subtext. Avoid on-the-nose dialogue. Instead, get information across by implying something without out-right stating it. K.M. Weiland has this great article about using subtext. The Only 5 Ingredients You Need for Story Subtext – Helping Writers Become Authors
  • Do: Ask, “Is  that character saying something out loud that everyone already knows?” If the answer is ‘yes’, it may be info-dumping.
  • Do: Read dialogue out loud. Does it sound natural? Great. If not, the writer may be trying to throw in too much information about what is going on.
• Focus on Scenes
  • Don’t: overuse exposition. Yes, I’m going there: show don’t tell. Actually, a little telling (exposition) is okay, but most of the story needs to be shown. Instead . . .
  • Do: use showing. The way most of the story is shown should be in in scenes. Use actions, dialogue, little bits of description to keep the story going and the information will fall into place gradually.
  • Don’t: have a character overly reminisce. If the writer uses paragraphs and paragraphs of a character’s thinking, it slows the story. A little is okay, but it goes a long way. Instead . . .
  • Do: stay in the now. Instead of reminiscing too much, have the characters stay in the moment. The reader will be right there with them.
  • Don’t: Use on-the-nose exposition. Don’t tell the reader Jordan is sad. Show it through her actions and feelings. Instead . . .
  • Do: weave in subtext. Yes, we’re back to subtext. Learn to leave the imaginative work for the reader. Make them work to figure out what’s happening. They want to, trust me.
  • Don’t: put all the info early in the story. Sometimes a writer feels they need to info-dump everything at the beginning of a novel. Or the beginning of the scene. Instead . . .
  • Do: save it for later. Weave as little information as possible to keep your reader engaged. Spread out those things you want to info-dump across the story. I make a list of things I want to explain and make notes in which scenes they’ll be. I don’t want them all together. And, also, I include them through sub-text or very limited exposition.
  • Do: Have a deleted scenes folder. After you’ve written a few drafts of your story, ask yourself which scenes do not really need to be included. They may not move the story along. Or they may be too similar to a previous scene. But don’t throw them away. Take them out of the story and put them in a ‘deleted scenes’ folder. They might be of use in a future story.
• Introduce information gradually
  • Don’t: Feel like you have to tell everything at once. I feel like I’ve already said this several times in the blog posting. But one of the best ways to detect info-dumping is to ask, “Is this a series of paragraphs describing something that is interrupting the actual story? Instead . . .
  • Do: Provide only what is necessary. Is this information relevant to what is happening at that moment in the story. Great. Include it in a way that’s not going to interrupt the story for more than a moment.
  • Do: sprinkle information in bits and pieces. Not all at once (I keep saying that). Like I mentioned earlier, infodump in first draft and then place it in smaller bits in later drafts.  Make a list of all the world-building and character information you just have to include and decide where to place it.
  • Do: only include relevant info. Focus only one what the reader needs to know now. Move the plot along.
• Use multiple perspectives
  • Don’t: ignore the opportunities of using multiple perspectives to avoid info-dumps. Instead. . .
  • Do: if possible, take advantage of showing a story from more than one character’s point-of-view. Showing the story through only one character’s eyes? That’s fine. But if you plan to tell it through the viewpoint of more than one, take advantage of this situation. One character may be able to skillfully weave in information that another character knows nothing about.
  • Do: use character interactions that would engage the reader more deeply. When two characters are arguing, the tension is a great excuse to show the reader what they need to know. Use it to your advantage.
• Use Prologues /Epilogues/Backstory
  • Don’t: use a prologue to dump everything at once. Sci-fi and fantasy are novel categories that can get away with using prologues. Some people hate them. Some love them. Instead . . .
  • Do: use the prologue to say just enough to entice the reader. I think it’s okay to use them to get some background to the reader, but my opinion is to keep them short.
  • Don’t: overuse backstory just to infodump. A character stops in the middle of a scene to remember that time a rabbit saved them from identity theft. This backstory could go on for pages. Instead . . .
  • Do: use backstory sparingly and only when it is relevant to what is happening or about to happen. And keep it short.
  • Don’t: try to tell everything that happens to the characters after the story is over until the day they die. We’re talking epilogues here, by the way.  Instead . . .
  • Do: use an epilogue to give the reader a small glimpse of what happens to the characters after the main story is over. 

Try this writing exercise

More on avoiding the infodump in parts 2 and 3. In the meantime, try this writing exercise:

Write the first few opening paragraphs of a short story or novel chapter. Indicate something unusual or crazy is happening, but don’t say exactly what it is. Use tools such as dialogue or “show don’t tell” to hint to the reader what is going on. 

I will post my results in part 3. In part two of this series, I’ll give some examples of info-dumps.

---

Friday’s Findings

• 7 Ways to Avoid an Info Dump
• 5 Ways To Avoid Info-Dumping
• Info Dumping: What It Is and How to Avoid It
• How to Dump Info without Info-Dumping
• Four Tips for Fixing the Infamous “Info Dump”

---

Photo by Şahin Sezer Dinçer: https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-wooden-padded-couch-2264665/

---

My Linktree