We all face the same things as writers: showing who our characters are within an information dump. I was faced with this a student of mine who has read both Stephanie Hart novels told me something that got to me. She said that she preferred books without an information dump on the protagonist in the first few chapters. Ouch! This is a challenge we all face. We don’t want long, heavy paragraphs of backstory, yet readers need some context. (And our characters are so interesting, right?) Yet the most successful writers have developed techniques that feel so natural readers barely notice they’re learning about a character at all.
Front-Loading—The Information Dump
We front-load character background for good reason: readers need to know what drives our protagonist through our stories. However, Donald Maass notes in The Emotional Craft of Fiction, that readers don’t actually need complete character profiles to become invested in a story. Instead, they need enough information to ground themselves in the scene. Further, the character has to be appealing enough that the reader cares about what happens to them.
One problem of the traditional info dump—which stops the action to explain character background—is that it stops the narrative. Readers, rather than appreciating the background, get annoyed at being derailed from the story itself. And once readers become annoyed or derailed, getting them back on track again is tough.
Using Action to Reveal Character
One of the most effective techniques involves revealing character through action and choice. In her craft book Wired for Story, Lisa Cron emphasizes that readers understand characters through what they do, particularly under pressure. A character’s response to conflict reveals more about their nature than paragraphs of description ever could.
The Hunger Games demonstrates another way. Within the first pages, we learn that Katniss hunts illegally to feed her family, that she’s protective of her younger sister, and that she lives in a dystopian society—all through action and immediate sensory detail rather than explanation. Author Susan trusted her readers to assemble the larger picture on their own as the story unfolds.
Dialogue as a Window
Conversation provides another organic avenue for character revelation. Through dialogue, writers can expose relationships, hint at backstory, and demonstrate personality without formal narration. Think about people who speak in single-syllable responses, or who interrupt people while they’re chatting. Or, show how the words a character chooses changes based on the race or gender of the person they’re speaking to. These clues reveal as much about a character as an info dump and keep the reader—and the story—moving.
How Withholding Information Can Help
I just discovered that holding back information can be as important as revealing it. James Scott Bell, in Write Your Novel From the Middle, argues that mystery about a character generates reader curiosity, compelling them to keep reading. The author doesn’t need to answer every question immediately.
This technique appears throughout literary fiction and thrillers alike. We might learn a character has a scar without immediately knowing how they got it, or understand they’re estranged from their family without yet knowing why. These gaps create a level of tension or questions in the readers minds that pushes them to read more and more. It isn’t the same as direct learning about a character, but in a way, it create a layer or filter through which to view the character.
Context Over Explanation
Rather than explaining that a character is poor, show them counting change for groceries. Instead of stating someone is grieving, show them automatically setting two places at dinner before catching themselves. These concrete, specific details allow readers to infer broader truths about characters without being told them directly.
In Twin Worlds, my protagonists Raina Wolfe and Tucker McLeod were preparing for a covert operation. Without any dialogue, their demeanor changed, as they changed clothes, grabbed tiny weapons, and moved almost in unison. Readers immediately saw the affable Tucker McLeod’s mood shift into action mode, which told them there was a side to this character they hadn’t seen yet. And this was revealed only by the context and action with Wolfe. were talking about preparation, the action followed them changing their clothes, grabbing weapons, and silently moving like a well-oiled machine.
Trust Your Readers
We can avoid an information dump by trusting our readers to piece together character information from scattered clues—and trusting ourselves to weave those clues effectively throughout. In short, the best character introductions feel effortless because they’re so clearly connected to the story as it is being told. Using action, character dialogue, and context, readers will know exactly who your characters are without an info dump. And no one will ever burst your bubble complaining about an info dump again!
