May 2015: Revealing Backstory Without the Dreaded “Info Dump”

What is an “Info Dump”?

The “Info dump.” Saying the name aloud makes it sound like something that should be avoided at all costs. Yet, when it’s done well, an “info dump” (or the “story within a story”) can provide information that is essential to understanding the plot and action of your story.

When an “info dump” is not done well, however, it is jarring to the reader. It disrupts the flow of the story, taking the reader out of the action, slowing the plot, and in some cases just out-rightly confusing the reader for no good reason – other than it’s cool information the author spent a lot of time researching. Simply put, it’s bad, because it’s a communication from the author rather than from a character. It is telling. Not showing.

Back Story

The “back story” is what happens “before the story starts.” It’s also called exposition, which literally means, “showing.” It can also be a difficult writing technique to master. Readers today want action. They don’t want to get a lot of description, but back story is sometimes essential to the plot and how it is done can make or break your story. Good and bad examples abound: Think Tom Clancy, Michael Crichton, and James Michener. Good? Bad? You decide.

According to the Fiction Writer’s Mentor, there are five ways to provide the back-story, but the solution is really up to you – the author:

1. Begin with it
2. Flashbacks
3. Current dialogue
4. Interweaving it into the current story
5. A mixture of the above four

Where to find the examples discussed today…

“Revealing Backstory While Avoiding the Info-Dump”, by Julie Eshbaugh
Pub Crawl, August 19, 2014
http://www.publishingcrawl.com/2014/08/19/revealing-backstory-while-avoiding-the-info-dump/

“Info Dump”
Fiction Writer’s Mentor
http://www.fiction-writers-mentor.com/info-dumping.html

“Back Story”
Fiction Writer’s Mentor
http://www.fiction-writers-mentor.com/back-story.html