Ready, Set, Discuss!

SnarkyLittleNikitry · Feb 2, 2009

So I'm writing this story and I'm about nine chapters in and already I have two chapters devoted entirely to explanation. The explanation is needed, but I don't like how much it slows down my pacing.

Pretty much I'm wondering what ways I could speed things up and still give my protagonist the information she needs.

Help me?

ChaosTitan · Feb 2, 2009

Explanation of what? How is this information being told? Is it really necessary to give it all to her in chapter-sized chunks, or can you break it down and dole it out in smaller bites over a longer period of pages?

Fenika · Feb 2, 2009

SnarkyLittleNikitry said:
I have two chapters devoted entirely to explanation. The explanation is needed,

Two chapters? Two?

No it isn't. Seriously.

And what CT said.

JamieFord · Feb 2, 2009

** DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!! **

If you have two full chapters of explanation, and it's bothering you as the writer, it'll probably be pit your reader will fall into and never climb out of.

No matter what it is...backstory...setting...explanation of culture...history...magic system...whatever it is, you probably can't get away with it in this form. Rub your characters against it, have them react to it or have them experience it somehow, rather than a narrative expose.

Gillhoughly · Feb 2, 2009

Go to library.

Find books similar to your own.

Read all of them and figure out how THOSE writers did what you want to do.

Then read the rest of the library.

Write every day.

geardrops · Feb 2, 2009

Realize that when you're done, those two chapters may likely be thrown out.

But that's when you're done. Finish the book first, then go edit.

Barpaio · Feb 2, 2009

Usually readers dont like to be spoon fed information, especially through two chapters. It seems a bit much honestly. Is there no way for the information to be inferred, in small doses, spaced out?

Barpaio · Feb 2, 2009

On second thought, Dempsey's advice seems pretty solid. Go with it.

ccarver30 · Feb 2, 2009

JamieFord said:
** DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!! **

If you have two full chapters of explanation, and it's bothering you as the writer, it'll probably be pit your reader will fall into and never climb out of.

No matter what it is...backstory...setting...explanation of culture...history...magic system...whatever it is, you probably can't get away with it in this form. Rub your characters against it, have them react to it or have them experience it somehow, rather than a narrative expose.

This. (It made me giggle too.)

maestrowork · Feb 2, 2009

Explain what?

Are you writing an encyclopedia or text book or a story?

Can you find a way to put in the information without jumping into "let me tell you why and how" exposition?

If you don't know how, like someone said, read.

But Dempsey is right: just write. It may be that you really do need (as a writer) to write out those explanations. You can always cut.

SnarkyLittleNikitry · Feb 2, 2009

Thanks for the advice guys. My friend also says that I should get through the entire thing first. As far as what I'm explaining, I hope a summation suffices.

Ali, my protagonist, falls into another world, literally. The world is in a war and there's a huge background to it. It's not just like one nation didn't like another; the history spans 5 centuries. Not only that, but the people of this world believe that she is this pivotal force meant to stop this war, the explanation of which also spans those hundreds of years.

So I don't want to info dump but I feel both Ali and the readers will need to know what they're getting into. Or maybe I'm underestimating their ability to infer?

Devil Ledbetter · Feb 2, 2009

Even if you don't lose the reader, the gobs of background info told outside of a scene or with no emotional connection to a character will be quickly forgotten anyway.

If this is your first draft, don't worry about it too much yet. You can start to fix the problem now by sprinkling any truly necessary info in as it becomes relevant to the plot. Later you can go back and delete those info dump chapters.

If you really need to give that much background/backstory it may be that you've started too late in the story. More likely though, this is the stuff that you as a writer need to know to properly tell the story, but your readers don't need this info to understand the story.

SnarkyLittleNikitry · Feb 2, 2009

Gillhoughly said:
Go to library.

Find books similar to your own.

Read all of them and figure out how THOSE writers did what you want to do.

Thanks for the suggestion!

My story is a sort of retake/continuation of an old children's story. It's probably Young Adult fiction. Any suggestions for reading material?

Sam Stephens · Feb 2, 2009

SnarkyLittleNikitry said:
Thanks for the advice guys. My friend also says that I should get through the entire thing first. As far as what I'm explaining, I hope a summation suffices.

Ali, my protagonist, falls into another world, literally. The world is in a war and there's a huge background to it. It's not just like one nation didn't like another; the history spans 5 centuries. Not only that, but the people of this world believe that she is this pivotal force meant to stop this war, the explanation of which also spans those hundreds of years.

So I don't want to info dump but I feel both Ali and the readers will need to know what they're getting into. Or maybe I'm underestimating their ability to infer?

A lot of that information will certainly be needed, but it's all in the delivery.

When Ali falls into another world, she won't know what's going on, so it's okay for the reader to not know the history straight up, either.

Bits and pieces can then be added along the way as Ali discovers them then conversations, or documents she may find, or other little "clues" along the way.

I'd say spread it out as much as possible, and make Ali discover it bit by bit.

Your readers need to have "rest time" in the middle of the learning process

cheers
Sam

Shweta · Feb 2, 2009

Have you ever gone to a foreign country?

Nobody sits you down and says "Okay, let me tell you all the history/politics and how it might affect you". They just tell you what's useful right now, and look at you funny if you don't know everything two weeks in.

There's a wonderful concept I picked up somewhere on AW: that of News you can use. In your next draft, try letting the character & reader know only what they need to know right then. If you need to set something up, give it a reason to be useful information earlier.

Having said all that I don't think there's anything wrong with explaining everything up front in a first draft. You probably think it's necessary because you aren't living it yet; that's how I am too. Worrying about when the information is useful can easily be a second draft thing.

job · Feb 2, 2009

One thing you might do ..
Look at Dr. Who -- not the most recent series, but the old Tom Baker works.

These are classic examples of the intrusion of a stranger into an ongoing critical situation. Real history on Earth. Fake history on other planets and in the future.

What you're looking at in Dr Who is how LITTLE information the writers lay down as they get on with the business of telling the story. And you can see which kinda bits of history the writers cherrypick out of all possibilities.
It's not the significant turning points of the past.
It's what impinges on the here-and-now of the story.

Gillhoughly · Feb 2, 2009

SnarkyLittleNikitry said:
Thanks for the suggestion!
My story is a sort of retake/continuation of an old children's story. It's probably Young Adult fiction. Any suggestions for reading material?

Such stories are not limited to YA.

What you're asking about is how to put in exposition and back story and not have pages of data dump. All writers have to deal with this, however simple or complicated.

The best thing any writer can do is just read the whole library.

It worked out pretty well for me, though I skipped all those Russian novels. Heck, I even skipped the movies of all those Russian novels.

Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series has a ton of backstory, but she handles it deftly. She also has a rich fantasy series going. You can't find a better writing mentor.

Shweta · Feb 2, 2009

Gillhoughly said:
Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series has a ton of backstory, but she handles it deftly. She also has a rich fantasy series going. You can't find a better writing mentor.

And you'd have to look a long ways to find someone more fun to read

Birol · Feb 2, 2009

You might need to know all of this information, but I doubt the reader does.

SirOtter · Feb 2, 2009

First Commandment of Writing: Thou Shalt Not Info-Dump!

Break all that stuff up and sprinkle it here and there through the narrative, if you absolutely have to mention it. Have characters discover it piecemeal, then discuss it casually so it doesn't come across as lecturing. There are a myriad of ways to handle backstory and geography and such so it becomes virtually invisible, or at least unobtrusive.

Bufty · Feb 3, 2009

Snarky -stop and think about it. If someone from another planet fell into World War II do you think they would be the least bit interested in a five hour lecture on the history leading up to it?

Shweta · Feb 3, 2009

Bufty said:
Snarky -stop and think about it. If someone from another planet fell into World War II do you think they would be the least bit interested in the history leading up to it?

YES. THIS.
This is the point.

Diana Hignutt · Feb 3, 2009

Stories are always about people. Not events. Not history.

Phaeal · Feb 3, 2009

Person falling into another world, where war rages, where that person is the Chosen One. That describes every other fantasy WIP and many published. I think by now the readers in the genre will get most of your story without being spoonfed the background.

Seriously. Every genre has these "core" plot structures and thousands of related tropes. Unless you're really striking out into new territory (and according to your own description, you're not), you can parcel out the info and the genre readership will probably keep right up, even outpace you.

A certain amount of "outpacing" is good -- it makes the reader feel smart. Too much is bad -- it makes the reader yawn over a puzzle too easy. But this is slipping into another topic, I think.

Phaeal · Feb 3, 2009

Bufty said:
Snarky -stop and think about it. If someone from another planet fell into World War II do you think they would be the least bit interested in a five hour lecture on the history leading up to it?

If I was this alien, I'd just jump to the present and watch the History Channel, aka All Nazis All the Time.

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