Week 4 of Sven and Infodumps
The writing is still coming along in the Sven challenge. I’m still a little ahead of my goal at this point although not by much. I managed to reach 41k this past week. The end is still far away, but it’s in sight now. That’s very exciting.
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Clash: YA Urban Fantasy
41,319 / 70,000 Words (59%)
Something I encountered during yesterday’s writing is the issue of infodumps. In the first book I wrote, I had a major infodump in the first chapter. It didn’t need to be there, and it was terribly boring. No wonder it got rejected since that was the first thing a reader would see.
Since then, I’ve tried the method of weaving in backstory and world building details throughout the story, but I hit a potential snag this weekend when another character pretty much has to tell another character some things she should know. And I’m afraid it reads like an infodump since there’s a lot he has to say.
So, I’ve been asking myself two questions. One, is it even an infodump? And two, how can I solve the problem?
Generally, an infodump is defined as a huge block of rambling prose that pulls the reader out of the story. My potential infodump is given in the form of dialogue and interaction between two characters over halfway into the story. Someone is telling someone else a story, and I see no way around it. My character has to know this stuff.
I’ve been reading opinions online, and the consensus seems to be that infodumps are, in fact, fine as long as you’ve led up to them (check), have dropped hints (check) and have left the reader really wanting to know what’s going on in the situation (hopefully, check). If you do that and write the large block of information in such a way that it’s actually interesting, it should be fine.
I’d love to hear how others handle infodump issues and if you think there’s ever a time when they are okay. Or do you actually like reading them? Do they pull you out of the story? Do your eyes skim the details? Inquiring minds…
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Comments
I’m terribly guilty of info dumping. Its worse when you are writing in a unique, new world - how do you explain it without reverting to infodumps?
I’m getting better at recognising and trying to eliminate them. I tend to try and spread it around, a few lines here, a few there. Mixed in with conversations or a brief explanation related to an event that has occurred. Drip fed in effect.
Of course that can mean some things don’t make sense until later on when you re-read with that knowledge your learned later now known to you.
In the middle of the book they aren’t so bad, once you’ve established the characters and the story, they don’t seem to then distract. Then again, it all depends on how well they are written. There’s always a bad way to do something.
As a reader, I don’t mind an occasional infodump, as long as it isn’t in the beginning of the book. I actually welcome a huge blast of important information, especially if it answers a bunch of questions and frees my brain up to focus on what’s coming next.
As a writer, I’m still trying to find the best way to pull off an infodump. I see nothing wrong with having one character tell another the necessary information. “Exposition Guy” is a noble profession with a long and illustrious tradition.
As long as you lay the groundwork, I think your readers will be itching to get the information you give them.
My book started off with a Prologue then three paragraphs later went into a flashback. I didn’t know ‘better’ when I was writing it. Now, I’d avoid a flashback, but the Prologue is a keeper.
I have one character who reveals the mythology and history and I’ve tried to break it up into smaller pieces rather than one long monologue. But I’m still learning.
One of the most important writing lessons I ever learned came from none other than good ol’ Captain Picard (not that he was talking about writing, but still): “Humans LOVE a mystery.” The infodump at the beginning not only bores, but gives everything away up front. Part of what keeps a reader reading is the promise of finding answers to their questions. We find out that not only did we not need to do it up front, but the reader is more intrigued if we don’t explain everything right away.
I quickly realized (and this doesn’t just come from the Captain, mind you) that ALL books are mysteries, regardless of the genre. “Drip fed”, as Andrew put it, is a good way of putting it. Little clues, here and there, little pieces of the puzzle.
Now, that being said, even mysteries need to stop and give some information. As long as you don’t show ALL of your cards, as long as you still have plenty of questions unanswered, ones the reader is dying to know about.
I also read one author (I forget who) who said it’s okay to have the infodump somewhere along the way, to have two characters hashing something out… just have someone chasing them while they do it! (Don’t know if that applies to your kind of story, but I thought it was funny.)
Sean - That’s a good idea, and it would work in this story only my characters could be doing the chasing.
I agree with Christa that info dumps in the middle are more forgiven by the reader. GRR Martin does that–all action at the beginning, and then he allows these paragraphs of background info once we know and love the characters. Works for me.
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