Avoiding the Info Dump

S33E7 – Avoiding the Info Dump: Backstory

by Leigh Hull
June 23, 2022June 22, 2022

A little story is supported by a lot of untold backstory. What they get is more than what they see. – Karen Lord

S33E6 – Avoiding the Info Dump: Personalities and Descriptions

by Leigh Hull
June 20, 2022June 20, 2022

Creating characters is like throwing together ingredients for a recipe. I take characteristics I like and dislike in real people I know, or know of, and use them to embellish and define characters. – Cassandra Clare

S33E5 – Avoiding the Info Dump: Character Abilities

by Ley Esses
June 16, 2022June 20, 2022

I think the hardest part of writing anything is getting exposition out easily, without hitting people over the head with it. – Jillian Bell

S33E4 – Avoiding the Info Dump: Magic Systems

by Leigh Hull
June 13, 2022June 13, 2022

Not all readers are satisfied by the “And then the wizard saved the day!” plot point. Some want to understand the magic. They want to know its boundaries, see its limitations, and be able to anticipate the main character’s struggle. – Moriah Richard

S33E3 – Avoiding the Info Dump: Your World’s Culture

by Leigh Hull
June 9, 2022June 10, 2022

The world doesn’t fully make sense until the writer has secured his version of it on the page. And the act of writing is strangely more lifelike than life. – Betsy Lerner

S33E2 – Avoiding the Info Dump: Your World’s History

by Leigh Hull
June 6, 2022June 10, 2022

History is made not simply with events, but by remembering those events. A double drumbeat like a heartbeat. History can be written not only with books, but with ceremonies. – Christopher Bram

S33E1 – Avoiding the Info Dump: Your World’s Politics

by Leigh Hull
June 2, 2022June 2, 2022

Good books don’t give up all their secrets at once. – Stephen King

We write because we have passion for the stories, worlds, and characters we create. We want nothing more than to show others the fantastic things we’ve imagined. For new authors, that often leads to exposition.

There’s a delicate line between providing enough information for the reader to understand and giving them too much. That’s why through June, we’re talking about Avoiding the Info Dump. Each episode, we talk about the best ways to explain and describe different elements of your world, from the magic to the character’s backstory.