Crafting Engaging Fiction: Dumping Info-dumps

The Problem with Info-dumps in Your Fiction Writing

• What is an Info-dump?

• The Importance of Avoiding Info-dumps in Fiction Writing

• Types of Info-dumps

• The Backstory Dump

• The World-building Dump

• The Historian Dump

• The 'Look How Smart I Am' Dump

• The Digression Dump

• The 'You Just Had to be There' Dump

• The 'Wandering Soul' Dump

• How to Fix Info-dumps in Your Fiction Writing

• Show, don't Tell

• Integrate Information into Dialogue

• Creative Solutions to Avoiding Info-Dumps

• Use Metaphors, Similes, or Analogies to Explain Information

• Use Flashbacks or Memories to Share Information

• Conclusion

What is an Info-dump?

Let's talk about a problem that plagues many fiction writers: the infamous info-dump.

It's when authors try to shove an entire encyclopedia's worth of information into a single scene or chapter, often in the form of a lengthy explanation.