Beware the information dump

[John Dean]

I am returning to a familiar theme for this blog. Much of my teaching of writers who are beginning out on their careers focuses on the perils presented by overwriting. It's something I have learned from watching skilled editors at work down the years.

Overwriting occurs when authors cram in too much information. In such cases, every time the pace picks up in a narrative, the writer slows it down by carrying out ‘information dumps’, dropping in lots of background that overwhelms and confuses a reader who is already busy enough getting to grips with a new story.

And right from the outset, yes, mea culpa. Despite my best efforts I still find myself guilty of it.

It’s problematical at any stage of a story but particularly so in the early stages when you really need to drag the reader into your tale. Information dumps bring it screeching to a halt.

One of the most common reasons for overwriting is that the author has included too much backstory. Backstory is important because it helps readers understand characters but the writer should always be aware that including it is the same as saying to the reader, ‘Before I tell you the story, there’s something about these characters and this situation that you need to know.’

Sometimes, the reader will not wait and, in actuality, there’s very little that readers need to know about our characters’ history and motivations that they won’t learn over the course of the book with the information dropped in in short sections as the story unfolds.

Overwriting can become particularly pronounced in dialogue. It manifests itself most often when the writer presents the reader with big chunks of characters imparting information, rather than using shorter, snappier lines that will give the story more pace and sound more like real people talking.

Overwriting can also arise from a writer’s tendency to overdo description. Normally, just two or three major characteristics of a person or place, supported by carefully rationed details, will be enough to do the job. We don’t need to know about every freckle or blade of grass.