tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post3363725978016787354..comments2023-10-31T10:59:03.023-04:00Comments on INKSPOT Crime Fiction Blog | A Place for Mystery, Mayhem, Writing and Life: Information Dumps and How to Avoid ThemLinda O. Johnstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01512430135042480450noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-87777072412531435212009-06-19T07:01:46.154-04:002009-06-19T07:01:46.154-04:00Thanks, Terri and Cassandra!
Cassandra, I'm n...Thanks, Terri and Cassandra!<br /><br />Cassandra, I'm not familiar with webook....I'll have to check it out. Thanks!<br /><br />ElizabethElizabeth Spann Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15625595247828274405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-64835888566582635582009-06-19T02:20:42.113-04:002009-06-19T02:20:42.113-04:00I don't know if you've ever visited the we...I don't know if you've ever visited the webook website, but there are a lot new writers starting out there, and one of the biggest problems is the reliance on info dumps in first chapters. Thanks for the great advice on how to move on from this. It is going to be very helpful for so many people.Cassandra Jadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17515442718374750674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-71007690061190976742009-06-19T00:59:43.150-04:002009-06-19T00:59:43.150-04:00Nice to see you here, Elizabeth. Congrats! Nice po...Nice to see you here, Elizabeth. Congrats! Nice post. I love when people tell me what my characters look like.Terri Thayerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09953154767532970027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-80813477045113228612009-06-18T20:25:22.182-04:002009-06-18T20:25:22.182-04:00Thanks Sue Ann and Nancy!
Nancy, you're right...Thanks Sue Ann and Nancy!<br /><br />Nancy, you're right...put it in the readers' hands and let them form the character in their minds. Obviously it becomes a much stronger image for them when we're not overwhelming them with our descriptions.<br /><br />ElizabethElizabeth Spann Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15625595247828274405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-28664273733642383862009-06-18T19:39:56.918-04:002009-06-18T19:39:56.918-04:00You have a lot of really good points in this post....You have a lot of really good points in this post. It is often preferable for the reader to form his own opinion about certain aspects of the character, and with the "aspect" you really need to be wary you are not overwhelming the reader with too much information at one time that is not really pertinent to moving the story forward.<br /><br />Great post!<br /><br /><a href="http://nasharpe.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow"> Nancy, from Just a Thought…</a>N A Sharpehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09535316802416841336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-23866942513806923452009-06-18T15:35:24.052-04:002009-06-18T15:35:24.052-04:00Welcome, Elizabeth!Welcome, Elizabeth!Sue Ann Jaffarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09984054116933714621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-9570111573945165082009-06-18T14:55:12.107-04:002009-06-18T14:55:12.107-04:00Thanks for the welcome Alan, Cricket, and G.M.!
...Thanks for the welcome Alan, Cricket, and G.M.! <br /><br />Alan, you make a very good point. Backstory and research are other areas where writers tend to dump lots of info at once. <br /><br />Cricket, that's very interesting about readers filling in the blanks. I hadn't thought of it that way, but I've definitely done it as a reader--a character will remind me of someone and become that person in my head as I'm reading. <br /><br />ElizabethElizabeth Spann Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15625595247828274405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-27489079154996031272009-06-18T12:45:35.398-04:002009-06-18T12:45:35.398-04:00Welcome, Elizabeth! You're off to a great star...Welcome, Elizabeth! You're off to a great start.<br /><br />What Cricket says -- "what they fill in will be different depending on who they are" -- is exactly true, I think.G.M. Malliethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13805971625496094303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-8841355482670428022009-06-18T12:06:30.193-04:002009-06-18T12:06:30.193-04:00Great post, Elizabeth. And welcome!
The balance b...Great post, Elizabeth. And welcome!<br /><br />The balance between telling and showing in character is vital. And I agree with Alan, too, that information dumping can happen in terms of backstory, research, etc. A friend once told me that as writers our job is to lay the framework; the reader will fill in the rest. However, what they fill in will be different depending on who they are. <br /><br />Once I asked four first readers to tell me what a particular character looked like after they read my ms. I'd described her in a distinct way, but every single one of my readers came up with a different description than the one I laid out -- and they were all different from one another, too. Two readers said the character reminded them of someone they knew, and they filled in physical details from that. Another said he imagined her as being a lot like a popular television character.Cricket McRaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786996969148417569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-5908365447152413032009-06-18T11:12:23.995-04:002009-06-18T11:12:23.995-04:00Welcome to the blog, Elizabeth! A very nice first ...Welcome to the blog, Elizabeth! A very nice first post.<br /><br />Info dumps are something all writers need to watch out for, and they're not restricted to character descriptions. It's easy to get carried away and want to include every great fact discovered during the many hours of research--all at once. Better to filter it in and make sure the information is crucial to the story. <br /><br />That's the key--the info exists to move the story along, not the other way around.Alan Orloffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03695574442723430347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-13855009251845677992009-06-18T10:01:11.790-04:002009-06-18T10:01:11.790-04:00Your rookie friend is lucky to have you help him o...Your rookie friend is lucky to have you help him out, Marvin. There's not an agent or editor out there who doesn't want a story to start out with a bang...the back story dumps are really, really boring. <br /><br />I'll check out "Blood Red" this morning...thanks!<br /><br />ElizabethElizabeth Spann Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15625595247828274405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-3919937250450236852009-06-18T09:51:33.374-04:002009-06-18T09:51:33.374-04:00this is an important subject and I think you'v...this is an important subject and I think you've done a good job with this post and pointers. I'm editing a book right now for a rookie author who spends the entire opening loooooong chapter dumping all the "back story" on the reader before starting the actual story line. It reads like a booooring history book. I'm having him start the book with (what is now) the second chapter and work the back story in a little bit at a time through the thoughts, memories, and words of the characters.<br /><br />You might also appreciate the post I have up today on the <a href="http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Blood Red Pencil Blog</a>. It's about authors "butting in" to the story with their own voice to deliver information instead of letting the characters do it within the context of the story.<br /><br /><a href="http://inspiritandtruths.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">the Old Silly From Free Spirit Blog</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-66623783299893258812009-06-18T09:31:10.989-04:002009-06-18T09:31:10.989-04:00Lisa, thanks for the welcome! That's a good ex...Lisa, thanks for the welcome! That's a good exercise you mention. Funnily enough, some of the characters that are most vivid to me are from books I read when I was much younger: Nancy Drew (with her titian hair), Trixie Belden (with her sandy curls), etc.<br /><br />Like Alexis, I have a background in journalism--maybe this is a reason we automatically lean toward quick, summary-style descriptions? You're right, though--they don't work for books.<br /><br />ElizabethElizabeth Spann Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15625595247828274405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-17567582985918646842009-06-18T09:27:35.945-04:002009-06-18T09:27:35.945-04:00Hi Galen,
I'm with you. As a reader, there ar...Hi Galen,<br /><br />I'm with you. As a reader, there are SO many times I prefer the author to tell and not show...just come on and give me the facts: what does this guy look like? I guess there's just a point where too much info is too much info and we need to be cognizant that editors' thresholds for description is low.<br /><br />In action scenes you'd definitely want more quick telling and less showing, imo.<br /><br />ElizabethElizabeth Spann Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15625595247828274405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-83111963384732538562009-06-18T08:52:30.706-04:002009-06-18T08:52:30.706-04:00Ha -- I have the opposite problem, as a journo who...Ha -- I have the opposite problem, as a journo who was trained to describe in one short, phrase -- I have to force myself to add more description to help out the reader! These are some great techniques you suggest here.Alexis Granthttp://www.alexisgrant.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-57530352441701868322009-06-18T08:12:23.480-04:002009-06-18T08:12:23.480-04:00Welcome, Elizabeth! I'm thinking about some of...Welcome, Elizabeth! I'm thinking about some of my favorite series characters now and trying to picture them in my head. Some are more clear than others. It would be fun to compare impressions with other readers. Thanks for the post.Lisa Borknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-78665585596857149912009-06-18T08:10:37.805-04:002009-06-18T08:10:37.805-04:00I think you’ve isolated the answer, Elizabeth. Re...I think you’ve isolated the answer, Elizabeth. Readers need enough info to get started, enough to have a rough, “mind’s eye sketch” of the character. Then, if need be, you can do more sketching as the scene develops and the character warrants. In addition, of course, the showing part will also fill-in where needed<br /><br />I understand that showing is the holy grail of writing, and it is sacrilege to ever dissent, but, aren’t there occasions where it’s just simpler, and smarter, to “tell?” As you point out, showing takes a lot of work and words. Maybe if authors—where it made sense--just told the reader that X is X, and moved on, both reader and author would benefit. Dunno, just sayin’---but not telling. (g)<br /><br />Best Regards, Galen<br /><a href="http://www.galenkindley.com" rel="nofollow">GalenKindley.com </a>joe doaks-Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283066862112820202noreply@blogger.com