Info Dumping
Info Dumping in Fiction
One of the biggest issues for authors - particularly those writing fiction like romance, is the tendency to info-dump. At times, it is a result of lazy writing. Sometimes, a writer is unable to come up with a different way to pass the information. Other times, a writer is unaware of what an info dump is.
What is Info-Dump?
It is an extended form of telling, rather than showing. An info dump is a huge chunk of information (often exposition) that is 'dumped' on the laps of a reader all at once. Usually, info-dumps are done through narration but can also be found in dialogue.
You may see yourself doing this when you feel a reader needs to know particular information, but you're not exactly certain how to reveal it. This often happens when you share information about the society of your novel, backstories of your characters, or historical background.
Although you need to tell the back story, describe the personality of your character, and the setting of the story. But you should elegantly place all this information into the story, not arbitrarily placed or dumped, hence, the phrase ‘info-dumping’, because you're dumping information When it isn’t necessary on the page.
It is bad because it can be jarring for the reader. It takes readers out of the story to a particular extent because it is a communication from the author and not the characters of the story. It is a form of telling and not showing.
Why is Info-Dumping a Problem?
First of all, info-dumping is telling rather than showing. Of course, you can’t have a story without some telling, but info-dumping is mostly in huge chunks and it obstructs the flow of the story.
It is not bad to tell, but info-dumping is not an engaging form of telling. Since the information mostly comes from the narrator rather than the perspective of a character, it takes readers out of the experience.
If a character gives the information from their perspective through dialogue, then it is unnatural, and it also takes the reader out of the picture. Info-dumping is also boring to read because nothing is happening in that period. It is just a big chunk of telling.
When you go see a play or a movie, the writer does not come out and attempts to explain some things to the audience. The story just naturally unfolds. The viewer learns about the characters and the world/society through the action of the play or movie.
Identifying Info-Dumps
You can easily identify info-dumps because nothing within the info-dump is happening at the time of the scene. Most times, they are reflections on the past (back story) or share facts about the characters or world.
The most common things to info-dumps are:
Abilities work (magical or otherwise)
Character back story
Rules or laws of a city/country/world
Personality traits
Sci-fi technology
Fantasy creatures/races
How to Fix Info-Dumping
Read your manuscript and locate areas where you tell chunks of information and nothing is happening at the moment. If it is a sentence or two, it is probably fine. The reader may have difficulty fully understanding motivations if you write a story without any telling – you do need to tell some information. But if you discover a larger chunk, then decide whether the reader needs to know that information.
If they do, ask how much they need to know at that moment. When it comes to the backstories of characters or world-building, you only need to reveal the information that is vital for the reader to know in that period.
After you have determined if it is necessary for the period, try these:
Delete anything that is not important for the reader to understand and know in that very period. If it is important at some point, save it for later use.
Have short sentences – preferably one or two sentences so that the eyes of your readers don’t start gazing over.
Write it in such a way that it conveys something about the personality of your characters. A flippant mention of a murder relates to the reader that maybe the character didn’t really like that person.
Break up your fiction story; don’t stick all you’re telling in one spot. Spray information throughout the novel. Only tell the reader the minimum of what they need to know at any given time.
With the remaining information, determine a method to build a scene around it. A scene will be much more interesting than an info dump. Or if it is now short, you can keep it.
On the other hand, you could build the information into an existing scene.
If you need to info-dump, get creative about it. You can make use of a newspaper article, a radio announcement, a TV broadcast, a dialogue with an eccentric psychic, and so on.
But have it in mind that these creative techniques can be risky! The aim is to hide the fact that you’re info-dumping, which means that you must carry it out in such a way that is clever and couched within the context of an interesting and engaging scene.
In Conclusion
Just as it is in all cases of fiction writing, there are exceptions to all these rules. There will always be authors who manage to write paragraphs or pages of exposition without it becoming an info dump. Literary, this is a particular art form. However, for a lot of writers, the most important thing to remember is to remain focused on the movement of your plot.
Allow the conversations of your characters to keep your reader engaged. Don’t get bogged down in description and background. Keep readers in the now. Keep them interested. And keep them wanting more.