《How to Write Stories People Will Love》Question 93: When to be detailed or vague
Advertisement
asks: My character goes through a long period in the story where she secretly researches how to modify a dark spell to save her people. How would one go about conveying the information she's learned to the reader without it being a big info-dump? And how does one make the research scenes interesting?
The first thing to ask yourself is this: How important are the details of this spell to the plot of the story? You determine this by figuring out what the bulk of the story will be about. In the scenario you present, the story could be handled in a few different ways:
1. The story is all about the adventures had while gathering the things needed for this spell. A lot of video games do this.
2. As the character learns more about the spell, she learns more about herself. The spell is part of her personal journey.
3. The story is about various characters doing things and reacting to each other. There's a strong plot happening, of which the spell is only a small piece.
If your story is more like #3, then you actually don't need to divulge much about the spell. Only relevant details need to be shared. The reader doesn't need to know every single ingredient, just the ones that will change what the character is focused upon. The things that affect the story. Things that don't really influence the story are irrelevant and tend to be boring.
If your story is more like #1 or 2, then spell details will be needed. Just not all at once - that's the key. Think of the spell as pieces of the plot and reveal them piece by piece, ideally when they become relevant.
To look at it another way, this spell could be like a 50-page report you have to write. If you think about everything at once, you start feeling overwhelmed. Discussing all aspects of the spell at once can overwhelm the reader. But if you focus on the first piece--for example, choosing which country your report will be on--it will be more manageable and interesting. The character can explore how she feels about this part of the spell, or reflect on what others might think.
Advertisement
While she does that, the rest of the spell doesn't matter. That's future stuff. There's no need to talk about it until she's ready to deal with it.
For a refresher on info-dumps, visit Chapter 25: Avoid the Info-Dump.
Advertisement
RE:WRITE
Fed up with a world where science has made every fantasy a reality and people just don’t care about stories anymore, a young video game developer named Kai uses ancient black magic to transport himself into one of his games, titled: Choices. Disturbed by his powerlessness on Earth, Kai makes sure to give himself the ability to change this new world as he sees fit, literally. If you were ridiculously powerful, would you throw away all your morals and do whatever you wanted?Would you find happiness? Would you find love? Or would you end up realizing that… Absolute power is pretty depressing. Note: The format for chapter titles is: “Overall_chapter_number POV_chapter_number: Chapter_title." Look at the POV chapter number to see who is narrating. Thanks to Ia-shub niggurath and peacefulcatastrophe for editing. Also thanks peacefulcatastrophe for the idea for the new cover image: John Martin, 1789–1854. The Deluge. 1834. (Public Domain) You can read it on my website too!Please vote for my story on TopWebFictions! No sign up, just click on the link and vote for as many stories as you like. Signed and fulfilled the Pledge. ~~A Proud Member of Writers to The End; we finish our fictions!~~
8 173Amulet of Infinity
Wherever it is found, the amulet has been known to herald disaster. Now, it is in the hands of three sisters who do not know its curse or its power. Will they control its destiny, or be controlled? With the sisters at the helm or mercy of fate, two kingdoms are thrust into a state of panic for very different reasons.
8 61CARNAGE CARNIVORE - A dragon devouring faeries...-
Carnage... This name I gave myself...The last human being...The first dragon...The first carnivore...The world as we knew it no longer exists. The Gods, the sky or the creator...whatever. After a solar explosion and a good dose of gamma rays, all humans and most animals disappeared. With time, all traces of civilization disappeared. But the Gods, tired of our conflicts or wanting to finish once and for all with evolution, decided to replace our way of life by a magical, fantastic universe. Populated by elves, gnomes, dwarves, goblins and all sorts of creatures born spontaneously by magic, the moon, flowers and dew, like fairies. A paradise.Me? I was a scientist... I knew... There were plenty of signs... and I went on expeditions, stole relics from another age and by the power of science and genetics I made the crazy bet to transform myself into a dragon. When I woke up... Everything was gone, replaced.So I decided to avenge those billions of sacrificed souls by devouring everything I could. Gods included. I am the first and only carnivore...
8 1073My Life : 僕の命
Aonair faces the truth of this chaotic world. To achieve his dream, he will not stop, no matter who or what stands in his way.
8 244Better To Be Lucky Than Good.
The world is dying, something has to be done. The people who messed it up are clueless. The ones who are fixing it aren't in it for the right reasons. They have endless funding, and unlimited resources, but the plan they advertised isn't the plan they will execute. Drew is put in charge of integration and security for a major project at work. He knows something is off so he asks the one person he trusts the most to help him. Unfortunately that person isn't a hero and is the last person humanity wants to depend on. These two are all that stand between them and their goals. Can they stem the tide and bring humanity back from the brink or will they just screw around and go for shiny treasure and digital glory?
8 145Let's Just Be Human (Finished)
It's been thirty years since the collapse of the Soviet Union. They'd both moved on, or so they thought. If it wasn't already clear, this is a Sovame fic.
8 98