Unavoidable infodump?

Do all the other races need to be described at the same time? Is it possible to mention names but describe each one in detail in separate incidents as the story unfolds?

When thrown a laundry list of names/places/facts, as a reader I tend to get confused and have to keep going back to the list for reference unless I have an incident or a character to link the information with. For example, instead of describing the characterestics of another race, it's easier to remember if a character of that race is brought into the story. The "show" is easier to remember than a "tell."

I would say the best way to avoid this is to avoid it.

The *best* stories of this ilk don't divulge information until you absolutely need to know it (and sometimes AFTER that, if you're the prot).

Start with the barest essentials.



Example one

Darius Darrington sat on the rooftop and looked down on his prey. Werewolves were always so 2-dimensional. Never paid attention to the sky. That's why Darius' Vampire-Rangers were so effective at neutralizing them.

If only we could do the same thing with the Aviaks, Darius mused, as he waited for the right time to attack. Ever since the Bloodforsook War they've been growing more and more advanced in their tactics. Darius was grateful the Aviaks had more than enough to worry about with the recent Troll invasions. He wondered how long that would last.



Example two

Darius Darrington sat on the rooftoop and looked down on his prey. If he were warm blooded, he'd have shivered from the cold. But he wasn't. Darrius was a vampire, and the creature he stalked from above was a werewolf, and a particularly nasty one at that.





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The difference between example one and two is that I don't have to know ANY of the stuff about the aviaks and trolls yet, or that there was a war, or anything. All I have to know for the story I am reading at this very instant is that there's about to be a throwdown between a werewolf and a vamp. When the dust has settled, maybe I'll give the reader some tidbits as to why we're fighting, and where this war is headed.




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Hi. I'

Let the reader know what the character's POV knows. If that creates a problem, let them know what the main character needs to worry about right then. Lather, rinse, repeat as needed through the story. Info dumps are only rarely necessary at all.

Regards,
Scot

If you haven't already, check out the transcripts from last week's SFF Chat. We discussed "incluing," a method of giving information to the reader without being obtrusive or info dumping.

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67530

reenkam said:

it'd definitely make more sense to explain as they come up as actual characters.

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Try to see if you can go even further than that. With that I mean: Try to see if you can put in info after the fact. Instead of being spoon-fed info I'd personally rather like to see a character shoot a vampire with silver bullets and find out it doesn't do anything the hard way.

Even if you keep info to a minimum putting in character who knows everything will make for a boring story.

It's a very tricky thing to put information in just the right spots.

One of the common causes of infodump seems to be the writer's blindness to what matters to the reader, at least at first. When I go back to edit work that has sat around long enough for me to see it with fresh eyes, I invariably find a few instances of "who cares?" that I didn't recognize the first time around. Also in cases where I'm under the illusion that some info dumping is necessary, my fresh eyes (or someone else's pair) can spot ways to scatter the information to other more appropriate parts of the story as I hadn't noticed before.

The SFF chat on "incluing" linked above is great. I think one of the best bits of advice I infer from it is that you probably shouldn't be afraid of cases where your information seems lacking, if in fact you've provided enough to "tease" the reader short of making every detail clear. As long as the reader is lacking no information required to follow the immediate action without confusion, a little tease -- allowing them to want more -- can be a good thing.

reenkam said:

...the only problem is that I don't want readers to think that I'm making things up randomly just to move the plot along. I need it to be obvious that everything was thought out before the writing was done...i don't want any deus ex machina assumptions.

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If you did think it all through* beforehand, then it will be consistent and feel like it goes together. It doesn't matter that you reveal the details a little at a time. What makes it feel made up randomly is when it really doesn't fit together properly.

Also, if you get to the end of your first draft and find you need something that looks like a deus ex machina because it wasn't set up properly, go ahead and write it. Then, in your second draft, retrofit the setup.

*Assuming you thought it through well, of course.

Revealing information is like a fan dance. Teasing is a lot more fun for the audience than showing everything at once.

Jim Butcher's 'Dresden Files' and the TV series 'Supernatural' are two great examples of people knowing some things but not everything.

Jim in particular is great in showing that there is more in later stories. The Vampires, for example, seem to be just a random critter at first. Later on, in new books, we get to see that there are 3 different types, each of which is pretty well organised.

Try to make a chart (inside your head or on paper) and give bits of info a rating of 1 to 5. 1 is 'hardly needed detail' and 5 is 'essential information'. Then try to write the book with just rating 5 info and some of the rating 4 stuff. Sprinkle it with the other stuff only to spice it up. Lower rating stuff generally is used to flesh out a character.