info-dumping
Cramming in backstory
Info-dumping is the practice of conveying large amounts of background information, exposition, or technical detail all at once, often in a way that disrupts narrative flow or overwhelms the audience.
The term is used critically in discussions of writing, filmmaking, and game design, where clumsy info-dumps are seen as a sign of poor craft.
The first chapter was pure info-dumping about the planet's history.
A skilled storyteller weaves necessary information into action and dialogue rather than stopping to explain everything directly.
Sustained projectile assault
- saturationState of complete permeation
- delugeSevere overflow of water
- avalancheRapid mountain snow collapse
- floodOverwhelming water overflow
overwhelm · overstimulation · inundation · glut · surfeit · excess · torrent · overkill
Intended to instruct
- professorialBefitting an academic lecturer
- condescendingSuperior and dismissive manner
- patronizingTreating someone as inferior
- know-it-allSelf-proclaimed authority on everything
preachy · instructive · tutorial · explanatory · over-explaining · academic · nerdy · geeky
Long-winded and unfocused
- spielPersuasive extended talk
- lectureEducational spoken presentation
- pontificationOpinionated lengthy speech
- rantAngry prolonged outburst
diatribe · soliloquy · stream-of-consciousness · one-sided · uninterrupted · breathless · droning · verbose
Character's past narrative
- worldbuildingConstructing imaginary universes for fiction
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
- contextCircumstances shaping meaning
- setupHow something is arranged
explanation · preamble · frontloading · clunky · ham-fisted · forced · unnatural · interruption
bombardment
Sustained projectile assault
- saturationState of complete permeation
- delugeSevere overflow of water
- avalancheRapid mountain snow collapse
flood · overwhelm · overstimulation · inundation · glut · surfeit · excess · torrent · overkill · swamping
didactic
Intended to instruct
- professorialBefitting an academic lecturer
- condescendingSuperior and dismissive manner
- patronizingTreating someone as inferior
know-it-all · preachy · instructive · tutorial · explanatory · over-explaining · academic · nerdy · geeky · obsessive
rambling
Long-winded and unfocused
- spielPersuasive extended talk
- lectureEducational spoken presentation
- pontificationOpinionated lengthy speech
rant · diatribe · soliloquy · stream-of-consciousness · one-sided · uninterrupted · breathless · droning · verbose · long-winded
backstory
Character's past narrative
- worldbuildingConstructing imaginary universes for fiction
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
- contextCircumstances shaping meaning
setup · explanation · preamble · frontloading · clunky · ham-fisted · forced · unnatural · interruption · tangent
info-dumpingshow don't tell
Writing principle favoring demonstration
showing · dramatization · subtext · seamless integration · implication
info-dumpingwithholding
Keeping from another
reticence · terseness · understatement · minimalism · economy of words
info, dump, dumping, dumps, dumped, information, inform, informs, informed