You would never believe who showed up in the tavern. Well, it was none other than Madame Skisener. Yes, that Madame Skisener, owner of the biggest publishing house around these parts. She came, and we had a jolly time conversing and she also shared some stuff with me and I really had to share them with you. This is some of what she shared as her biggest problems when she reads fantasy work.
I don't know if you can tell but I write blog post that are on the shorter side. Why? Because I get pretty intimidated when I see blogs with a lot of words on a page and find it hard to read them.So I am going to do this post and more in the future in a way I like (short) in parts.
2) Info Dumping
Many times, writers get sidetracked by how excited they are to introduce their world and end up filling the readers with too much unnecessary information.
They are like an excited new mother introducing her baby to a stranger. They not only give introductory details about the baby but also how many times her precious child blinked that day and how long it took for her to finish her bottle.
Info Dumping by definition is a very large amount of information supplied all at once, especially as background information in a narrative. (definitions from Oxford Languages)
Info Dumping is done by writers in any genre but it is especially done by those who write fantasy. A lot of fantasy writers base their stories in an alternate reality or completely different world from ours and as such there are a a lot of details they need to create. But not all these details necessarily have to make it into the story and the details from the world they create that do end up in the story need to be smoothly weaved into the plot. Also info dumping in fantasy can also have nothing to do with world building and it can be the writer going in full detail and description of a random side character or unnecessary place.
I, mostly have been able to avoid info dumping in my work because of the amount of research I did before all my world building. Of course I don't think I am completely innocent but as I re-read my book over and over I decide what I really don't want to take out and what should go. Always remember this is your work so while learning and taking and making corrections don’t lose the story that it is you want to write.
So, what do you do?
Instead of dumping a bunch of unnecessary information of the world that contributes nothing to the plot at once, introduce the world through the characters' eyes and through their interactions(take care not to head hop). When the narrative is following the story of the protagonist navigating the entertainment industry, it is not the time to randomly discuss the daily life of the underwater kingdom across the ocean in full paragraphs.
You may have created a vast world and want the readers to know as much about it and come to love it as much as you do. But stuffing or rather dumping in random information that would just distract from the overall main plot will just turn off some readers.
Have patience and slowly introduce those relevant aspects of your world to the reader as your plot and characters develop.
In conclusion:
- Don't stuff the readers with tons of unnecessary details
- Introduce the world through the characters and as the story progresses and the details become relevant
- Have patience and slowly reveal the world to the reader.
P.S
Of course, things are different if the 'unnecessary' or better yet random detail you mentioned is an Easter egg you are planting maybe for a future book you already planned. But even then if it is too random and out of place to the existing plot it might fail to be seen as a cleverly hidden plot point.
Also, don’t forget the existence of Red Herrings and Chekhov's guns which you can plant in your story to foreshadow a future event.
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