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Post by rad on Jun 17, 2010 10:12:18 GMT -5
Blurgh. So I'm trying to write the first chapter of my new story and it keeps reading like an information dump. It's weird, because in my head I have some of the words for the later chapters, even those in new locations and with new characters, and they don't feel too info dump-y (yet. They might feel like that when I write them) but I'm struggling to write this chapter without a substantial amount of info dumping and at the moment it sucks.
What are your favourite tips for getting across the essentials, quickly, without beating people over the head with unnecessary descriptions and explanations?
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Post by thelunarfox on Jun 17, 2010 11:13:22 GMT -5
Oh, this is a good question. I sort of by passed this in Ruin by putting up a background so that people who wanted to know what the hell was going on could easily find out. I was chatting with my niece the other day about writing character introductions, and the only thing I could think of was "show not tell." I suggested she make the characters do something memorable by way of introducing them. I would think it would work the same way for anything else. You have a sci-fi world? You'd show some element that would make it clear it is not your normal world. If you have a society that's different, I'm sure there are ways you can show that as well. I would also suggest to trust the reader. They'll pick up on things as you go along. So maybe you don't really need to share all the details right away? Maybe you can just reveal the details. I guess it really depends on what kind of info you're dumping. Is it really necessary? Like there's no way someone would understand without the info? Hmm, am I helping or making things worse? LOL! Oh I know: homework. Don't know if that will help, but in this anime they're on Earth, but it's a totally different place. In the first episode, you have a girl traveling out to this small town where there is a festival being help and there is a myth behind the festival that explains what is going on. Along the way there are plenty of clues that things are familiar yet different. It was a very clever way of doing it, and exactly what I mean.
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Post by lhasa on Jun 17, 2010 12:38:24 GMT -5
I still haven't fully figured out the art of artfully revealing information. I'm so afraid to info dump that I try to only reveal things a little at a time. So far, it's working out well.
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