I’ve been working on a new series, the Seahorse Bay Mysteries, and it’s quickly become clear to me that I’d forgotten how difficult it is to start from scratch. New setting, new characters, new dynamics. After writing six books in the Callie Cassidy Mystery series, I’d grown accustomed to Rock Creek Village and its residents. It’s so much easier to get in the heads of people I already know well than to…well, build new heads.
My instinct tries to persuade me to begin by tossing all the background into the first couple of chapters. Who is this main character, and what makes her tick? Why is she abandoning her job as an assistant cruise director to return home to the port town where she grew up? And why is this transition causing her so much angst?
On and on, ad nauseam. Readers need to be apprised of all that external and internal detritus before they can feel comfortable jumping into the plot, right?
Short answer: no.
Notice I said it was my instinct to go that route. But of course, I know better. I’ve read enough novels, studied enough structure, gone through enough editing to realize how boring that kind of opening would be.
The same is true of books. If I fling out all that data right up front, readers may just close the book and move on to something more intriguing. Most of them want to be involved in the action relatively quickly, and they also want an author to respect their intelligence enough to allow them to learn about characters through their words and actions rather than a prolonged info dump.
On the other hand, I’ve read books that thrust me into the action way too immediately. Buy me dinner first, will you? Or at least a Coke? As a reader, I want to understand something about the main character up front so I can bond with her and start rooting for her—especially in the genre I write, cozy mysteries.
So, the question becomes, where’s the line?
As an author, for me it boils down to editing. When I’m writing my first draft, I allow myself to start with that dreaded info dump. In a way, it allows me to discover my protagonist—to flesh her out, to discover her psychology and motivations, to delve inside her psyche. I write, knowing I will make changes when I tackle the second draft. Most of the character attributes I discover as I navigate the dump will make it into the book somewhere, somehow—just not all in the first chapter. I’ll cut, tweak, and redistribute these attributes throughout the manuscript, allowing readers to build their friendship with my main character gradually.
And regarding the party, my new acquaintance will just have to get to know me over time.
As a writer or a reader, how do you handle background info?
The Callie Cassidy Mystery series is available on Amazon Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and paperback.
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Lori Roberts Herbst writes the Callie Cassidy Mysteries, a cozy mystery series set in Rock Creek Village, Colorado, and the (hopefully) soon-to-be-released Seahorse Bay Mysteries, set in a Texas cruise port town. To find out more and to sign up for her newsletter, go to www.lorirobertsherbst.com
This is all so true, Lori. We, as writers, need to know all this stuff about our character, but our reader does not. At least, not in chapter one. I use the same party analogy when I teach basic novel-writing classes. Let your protagonist be a bit of an introvert--at first anyway
ReplyDeleteLove the way you phrased that, Annette -- a bit of an introvert!
DeleteAfter free-writing a character's backstory, I have many pages of material. If I know my character, I have the confidence to slip relevant snippets (I always think of a paper shredder) into the story.
ReplyDeleteGreat paper shredder metaphor. I'm going to think of that as I draft!
DeleteFor those who write series, an equal concern is how to slip in enough backstory for the reader who has just picked up this one book without making your series fans, who know all this, want to skip over half the book.
ReplyDeleteOooh, agree wholeheartedly! That's a constant struggle.
DeleteYou've hit the nail on the head. I always end up with too much dump, ever after the first and second pass through of that first chapter. So, it is revise, revise, and revise.
ReplyDeleteYup. And luckily, I like the revision process. For the first couple of rounds, anyway. After that, I find myself hoping never to think of the book again...
DeleteThe other thing I see some newer authors do is parse our just enough info in chapter one and then, once they think you are hooked, do a data dump in chapter two -- and bore the snot out of me, so I put the book down and choose something else.
ReplyDeleteGreat observation. It doesn't matter when the dumping comes--it's boring.
ReplyDeleteYou made me smile, Lori. I tend to do the same, dump it all in the beginning knowing full well that I’m writing for myself and most of what I write will end up being woven into future chapters or discarded on the cutting room floor.
ReplyDeleteEspecially in the first book of the series -- at least, for me!
DeleteLori, I just started a new series also and about the start the second book. The first is full of all new characters for me—a dog instead of a cat. The second will of course have many of the same characters along with several new ones. I only add backstory where it's essential, and I certainly don't give away the murderer in a previous book.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to reading it, Marilyn!
DeleteI use a marker to underline all info dumps in the first three chapters. Then, I edit to try to get rid of them. You have to leave a little bit in, but usually you can get rid of quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteExcellent suggestion! I'll use the highlighter on Scrivener!
DeleteThis is so true! And editing is key for information dump. I love the party analogy too,
ReplyDeleteEditing is actually my favorite part of the writing process!
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