Info dump
An info dump is a passage that stops the story to deliver background (history, mechanics, lore or biography) in a block, before the reader has any reason to want it.
The Fantasy Fiction Formula, Deborah Chester's guide, names the underlying impulse exactly: the worst mistake inexperienced fantasy writers make is the desire to teach readers about their world, their magic system and their imagination. Story first. The problem is never the information itself, only when it arrives.
Dumped:
Kara stepped into the square. The city of Veld had been founded three hundred years earlier by the exiled Duke Orran, who built its walls from the black stone of the northern quarry, and ever since the Salt War the guild of lamplighters had held the city charter.
Motivated:
Kara stepped into the square. A lamplighter blocked her way, one hand on his pole, the other out for the toll. Everyone paid the lamplighters. They had held the charter since the Salt War, and they never let you forget it.
Why it works: the second version keeps one fact, who runs the city, and delivers it as an obstacle in Kara's way, in her irritated voice. The founding, the duke and the quarry can wait until they matter.
How to recognise one
An info dump has a recognisable shape. The scene pauses, a narrator who was not previously present begins explaining, and when the explanation ends the scene resumes exactly where it stood. Nothing was decided in between. The same material becomes invisible when it is motivated exposition: given at a moment when a character needs it, resents it, or is getting it wrong.
Character description dumps the same way. A paragraph cataloguing height, hair, eyes and wardrobe at the moment of introduction halts the story and is not remembered anyway. Two or three unusual details, spread across the scene and chosen by what the viewpoint character would actually notice, survive far better.
How to fix it
- Cut first, then restore. Remove the block, reread the scene, and put back only what the reader missed.
- Tie each fact to a want. Background arrives best when a character needs it to get something.
- Let it be wrong. A character who misremembers the history gives you exposition and conflict at once.
- Trust the reader. Give them the facts they need and let them join them up. An audience that has done the arithmetic feels clever; an audience that has been handed the answer feels lectured.
Frequently asked questions
What is an info dump in writing?
An info dump is a stretch of background information, such as history, rules of a magic system or a character's life story, delivered in one block that halts the story. The information may be good; the timing is the problem.
How do I avoid info dumping?
Cut the block, then add back only the facts the reader needs to follow the current scene, at the moment they need them. Let characters discover, argue about or use the rest later.
Is a prologue an info dump?
It can be. A prologue that is a history lecture is an info dump with a heading. A prologue that is a scene, with characters wanting something, is not.