Foundation or Monotony??

I've had a similar problem and ended up writing a sort of prologue. At this moment I have no idea if the prologue will survive - writing the main bit may negate the need for it. It has helped me to clarify certain aspects of the plot and location. I would just write it out because you may find when working on the main part of the wip that not all of it, or any of it, is needed.

Thread it in, bit by bit...

As you know, Jim, it's difficult to insert important background information in a classy way without it seeming clunky or obvious. Sometimes a writer's just gotta do what a writer's gotta do. Doctor Who always explains things to his companion, Bond always spells it out to the Bond Girl, and Monkey always explained things to Pigsy in short syllables. If you don't have a girl/Pig God to explain things to, then you're going to have to end up with a degree of just plain laying it out there. Personally, I don't have a problem with a well written, atmospheric bit of foundation building right at the start, then on with the story. Too much of it is a problem, but not enough just leaves your readers confused.

by making it interesting .. .

Stupid answer but true. The best writers can take an info dump and make it interesting to read.

Why should a flashback be boring? Put the facts in an interesting context. Flesh them out with drama and conflict, a micro subplot.

If you need to explain something about a dinosaur DNA or computer viruses, use analogy, conflict, humor, whatever. Like the stuff a teacher would come up with to get the point across.

Story telling is well, always story telling. If you've got to state some hard dry facts, mix in some story telling. Do it right and the reader won't even know they're being fed information.

I guess it's like giving your cat his medicine. You can powder it, and mix it into his normal meal, a bit or a time. Or you put it in as a lump in something he really likes. Or do both, and he'll never know.

> How do you manage a great deal of foundation material
> without losing the reader's interest?

1) don't. In Hunger Games, we don't know what it's like when seen from the big TV screens. We can only imagine but that's not important to the story.

2) as others said, spread it out across the text. Make it available only when it's needed.

3) frame it under another story. ex: the flashbacks to the past at regular intervals in Raymond Khoury's The Last Templar. Also, Slumdog Millionaire.

4) Have a sidekick who needs an education or gives the education. Crichton does it all the time. Ex: the kids in Jurassic Park, the psy in Twister, the lawyer in State of Fear, the wife in Prey, etc.

-cb

What Jude said. You put in little details bit-by-bit, whatever is necessary. Readers don't usually need to know as much as you think, and if anything I probably tend to err on the side of not enough info.

Or just do what Stephen King does and always have that smarter than average kid explain "it" to the adults.

eggs said:

Doctor Who always explains things to his companion, Bond always spells it out to the Bond Girl, and Monkey always explained things to Pigsy in short syllables.

Click to expand...

...reminding me of the moment in The Great Muppet Caper when Diana Rigg goes on and on and on, and Miss Piggy asks, "But why are you telling me all this?"

from 1:25 to just after 2:00 here:

Retrofit Love At First Sight then Instant Marriage on Page 1.
MC tells new partner all about everything.
It's like, subtle, right?