So, You need to get information across to your readers about a character, the world you are writing in and more but what you don’t want to do is use to much exposition (a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea) and just tell them everything. Otherwise known as an info dump.
You want to get this information across naturally via dialogue, character action and scenery. This will help immerse your reader into the story as opposed to treating them like idiots and just spilling all the beans. Plus, its just boring.
As usual you can see the video version of this article here where I show you a writing exercise that will help new writers understand this:
To get better at this try this out:
- Pick a random name for a character along with 2 traits that they might display.
- Pick a want and a need for the character (it helps if they DO NOT match, even clash)
- Pick a setting / location
For this video I chose to use a name from The Crimson Gods, Amari. For his traits I chose intelligent and stubborn. For a want I went with living up to his fathers expectations but he needs a long break to escape the daily grind for a while. I chose the location of being on a boat at sea. Here’s the information we need to get across:
| Character and Traits | Want/Need | Location |
| Amari | Live up to his father | On a boat at sea |
| Stubborn, Intelligent | A break to find himself | |
Now we start by writing the bad horrible version. A first draft if you will. This will include all of the above info:
Amari walked below deck, he knew what the problem was. He did not understand why they didn’t listen. Things were to be done his way. The boat rocked on the high seas and you could spot the greenhorns a mile away. Most were above deck yacking over the railing. It was as he thought, the motor had almost seized again. That damn oil filter had fallen out. Oil floated on top of the water that had seeped in. Amari needed a break. He needed to see dry land again, he had been out here too long, and the fishing had been terrible. But what would his father think? He had to keep going, even if he had to do it all himself.
The above paragraph provides all the information the reader needs about the character. It tells them his name, that he’s smart but stubborn. It tells them what he wants and needs and where he is. But it does so in a horrible way. No one would read this, its an info dump. Boring.
Lets make it better by letting all of the required info seep into the text via action, dialogue and scenery.
Amari walked below deck, rolling his eyes. “Move,” he almost yelled. The man stumble by, his face as green as the waters they were stranded in. “It has to be that damn oil filter again,” he mumbled. The swells were growing outside as the boat rocked more viciously now. Amari looked around, he saw no one else below deck. Damn greenhorns, likely above deck yacking into the sea.
He heard a loud pop and saw smoke billowing out from the engine room. He walked in waving his hand trying to see. He bent over coughing and noticed the oil floating on top of the water that had seeped in.
He caught his breath and put his hands on his knees. He saw the motor still smoking and knew it was done for. He walked to the corner and sank into the wooded chair. He put his elbows on his knees and supported his chin.
“Amari?” came a voice from the hallway.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Oh shit.” Pete saw the seized motor. “Well, looks like this fishing trip is over.”
“The hell it is. Dad wouldn’t let this stop him. He would row the damn boat and use a rod and reel if he had to.”
“Amari, you need to get the hell off this boat.”
“Yeah, I do, but duty calls. We can get a few more days in with one motor. Now, get back up top and get the nets ready.”
Better. Not great, but better. Now we check all of the boxes for the info we need to provide, but we let Amari do it though actions and dialogue. We can now better picture the scene with descriptive imagery. Can you see it?
So there it is. Do this. Have someone give you a name and two traits. Have someone else give you a want and need, and another a setting. Then write it badly before fixing it. It’s a fun exercise, especially mixing it up. Perhaps Amari could have been on spaceship hovering above a dystopian world but hated his father. Mix it up and see how much your writing improves.
This is essentially the entire writing process, whether a paragraph, chapter, or the entire novel.
Keep writing!
~Chris
