Inventing Reality Editing Service Blog

Sometimes you do need to include the information provided in the info dump in your story. The best way to accomplish that is to incorporate it into your tale:

n Rewrite so that it’s part of the description or so it’s implied in the dialogue - This is the best way. You are now showing the information rather than telling it.

n Have the characters read or see a news report – If the information can’t be rewritten, use this ploy. Only give the information necessary to the plot, however, not the entire news article or report.

n Provide journal entries or captain’s logs - In 10 seconds, Captain Kirk gets you caught up on the plot. Usually some conflict needs to be noted or implied in the log, however, so that there’s dramatic tension.

Tags: dialogue, exposition, info dump, setting, show vs. tell

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An info dump is a chunk of exposition that is insufficiently integrated into the story being told. It’s also known as an “expository lump” and is a specific kind of exposition.

The info dump usually involves sharing your research notes with the reader, just to prove that you’ve done the research. While it’s sometimes necessary to give such information, make sure it sounds natural in your piece and not like a cut-and-paste from an encyclopedia.

Often an info dump is given by a Stapledon, a character serves no purpose other than to relate exposition, usually at great length and without interruption. As in real life, such characters are dull.

Another kind of info dumping is “maid-and-butler dialogue” in which characters tell each other things that they already should know so that the reader can overhear them. Unfortunately, those characters sound simple minded as the lines they deliver in real life would be inane.

Having said this, even the greatest science fiction writers are guilty of info dumping. Isaac Asimov is notorious for it in “The Foundation”, often regarded as one of the best novels in the genre. Frequently, however, these writers were allowed their transgression because the story the info dump itself was so fantastic (As a child, I had the same reaction to many encyclopedia articles that opened my eyes to the wider world). But with so many science fiction conventions that have appeared time and time again, your info dump probably isn’t all that fantastic. Given this, it’s best to avoid the info dump.

Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2008 Rob Bignell

Tags: exposition, expository lump, info dump, maid-and-butler dialogue, setting, show vs. tell, stapledon

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Whatever you do, avoid embedding exposition by having one character say to another, “As you know …” This is commonly given in science fiction stories by a “Stapledon”, which is a character who gives us an info dump, usually one at great length and without interruption (The term is ignominiously pays homage to science fiction writer Olaf Stapledon, who regularly made use of this technique.). It’s an obvious info dump and immediately flags to the reader that the forward movement of plot is about to be slowed, that he is about to be lectured and the viewpoint may be violated. As award-winning science fiction editor Gardner Dozois said of the Stapledon, “That’s probably the most common beginner’s mistake …”

Tags: exposition, info dump, setting, show vs. tell, stapledon

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One dilemma that novice writers often run into when writing a new draft of their story is a fear of cutting too much exposition. It’s an unfounded fear.

You probably can’t cut enough exposition. No story should include writing that slows the forward movement of plot, amounts to lecturing the reader or forcing him to read an encyclopedia entry or violates viewpoint.

The real dilemma facing the writer is that he hasn’t fully fleshed out a scene. If the reader doesn’t have enough information to understand the story, then the author isn’t fully showing us the scene. Telling us what needs to be shown is just cutting corners.

Sometimes the issue is that the writer doesn’t have enough fait in his own writing or in his readers. The reader probably gets what you mean when exposition is replaced with indirectly showing what’s occurring. Of course, this is where a good editor or another reader of science fiction can step in; they can tell you that they don’t understand something, and that’s a good indication that you need to include some more material about your novum. Don’t do overdue it, however – a single phrase or sentence at most often is all that’s needed.

Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2008 Rob Bignell

Tags: exposition, info dump, setting, show vs. tell

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Of course, sometimes exposition is necessary for expediency’s sake. But it should appear sparingly. A quick sentence noting some historical event or a common trait of an alien species is fine. After all, on that rare occasion, showing rather than telling would add far too much length to a story. If falling into this situation, remember to only include just the amount of exposition that is needed to move the story forward.

Tags: exposition, info dump, setting, show vs. tell

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Sometimes you simply must include exposition into your story, especially in science fiction when you’re dealing with entirely new worlds, alien races and technologies. Good writers handle this dilemma by embedding expository information into their stories.

Here are some ways to that:

n Viewpoint character recalls the information – The “captain’s log” convention is a way to accomplish this. Note that most log entries are only a couple of sentence long and focus on conflict.

n Viewpoints character seeks out such information and discovers it in notes, journals, articles, etc. which is then summarized – Mr. Spock and Data often do this in “Star Trek” by giving the relevant facts from the library computer on extraterrestrial species, exoworlds and historical events.

n Another character tells this information to viewpoint character - This other character must have a plausible motive for telling it, however. In addition, the character who the information is told to shouldn’t disappear once he hears the background, instead he needs to play an integral part in the plot beyond being the receiver of an info dump. An example of this successfully being done is in Steve Alten’s “Domain,” in which the reader needs to know the basic layout of a psychiatric treatment center; in the opening chapter, Alten has the center’s chief of psychiatry explain it to the main character, who is on her first day of an internship at the center. Alten wisely limits the description to a few brisk sentence.

n Viewpoint character experiences the world through his five senses – The character should capture details that infer background information the reader needs to know. If you need to describe the physical makeup of a world, give the tour of it through the viewpoint character’s five senses.

Ultimately, it’s best if readers learn about the setting or novum as a byproduct of engaging action. As science fiction writer and editor Stanley Schmidt recommends, “Know as much as you can about your background – and tell no more than you have to.”

Whatever you do, avoid embedding exposition by having one character say to another, “As you know …” This is commonly known in science fiction as a “Stapledon”.
 
Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2008 Rob Bignell

Tags: exposition, info dump, novum, setting, show vs. tell, stapledon, viewpoint character

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Why avoid exposition? Three good reasons:

n It slows the forward movement of plot – As exposition amounts to straightforward information, some novice writers believe it speeds up the story. In truth, it robs story of conflict and tension. Showing rather than telling what happens allows the reader to see incrementally how a character is pulled and dragged into feeling a certain way or making a specific decision.

n It amounts to lecturing the reader or forcing him to read an encyclopedia entry – A lot of times exposition is background information that the author deems is important to understanding some concept, such as the history of the Clone Wars, the physics behind hyperdrive and the ethical dilemmas of using metagenic weapons. It’s better to sprinkle these matters as bits into the characters’ normal conversation rather than give a long lecture.

n It can violate viewpoint – A first-person story suddenly interrupted with an objective, third-person telling of exposition can be jarring to the tale’s flow. At the very least, it is awkward-sounding.

Tags: exposition, info dump, plot, setting, show vs. tell

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Want to slow your story to a glacial grind and get readers to put down your story? Then load it with lots of exposition.

Exposition is directly conveying information to the reader. For example, you could write, “She found herself falling in love him.” You’ve directly told the reader what is occurring to the main character: she’s falling in love.

A better way to tell that she’s falling in love is to show it. Instead write: “Birray took her in his arms. She nestled her head against his chest as he caressed her back.” That she nestled her head against his chest, in the context of the rest of the story, will show she’s beginning to have stronger than usual feelings for him.

Tags: exposition, info dump, setting, show vs. tell

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