info-dumps
Excessive background exposition
Info-dumps are passages in fiction, gaming, or other media where large amounts of background information, exposition, or world-building details are delivered all at once rather than woven naturally into the narrative.
The term is usually pejorative, suggesting clumsy or tedious storytelling: The first chapter was just an info-dump about the kingdom's history.
Writers are often advised to avoid info-dumps by revealing information gradually through dialogue, action, or implication.
Character's past narrative
- world-buildingCreating fictional universes
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
- narrativeAccount of events
- flashbackInvoluntary past memory
prologue · monologue · characterization · setting · plot · narrator · dialogue · foreshadowing
One's formative experiences
- historyRecord of past events
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
- premiseFoundation for logical argument
- frameworkUnderlying support system
universe · origins · mythos · setting · worldbuilding · backstory · foundation · encyclopedia
Sustained projectile assault
- inundationOverwhelming surge of water
- delugeSevere overflow of water
- torrentViolent rushing flow
- avalancheRapid mountain snow collapse
flood · overload · saturation · glut · pileup · excess · dense · undigestible
Instructional step-by-step guide
- manualWritten instructions for use
- briefingConcise information session
- trainingDeveloping abilities through practice
- walkthroughSequential instructional guide
onboarding · how-to · documentation · lecture · explanation · handbook · guide · orientation
Intensely excessive in force
- disorientingCausing loss of direction
- convolutedExcessively complex or twisted
- incomprehensibleImpossible to understand
- muddledIn a confused state
jumbled · cluttered · dense · impenetrable · unclear · unfollowable · tangled · labyrinthine
Failing to engage interest
- monotonousUnchangingly dull
- dryFree from moisture
- tediousBoring through length
- droningSustained monotonous sound
yawn-inducing · mind-numbing · dreary · plodding · listless · disengaging · skimmable · long-winded
backstory
Character's past narrative
- world-buildingCreating fictional universes
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
- narrativeAccount of events
flashback · prologue · monologue · characterization · setting · plot · narrator · dialogue · foreshadowing · voiceover
background
One's formative experiences
- historyRecord of past events
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
- premiseFoundation for logical argument
framework · universe · origins · mythos · setting · worldbuilding · backstory · foundation · encyclopedia · glossary
bombardment
Sustained projectile assault
- inundationOverwhelming surge of water
- delugeSevere overflow of water
- torrentViolent rushing flow
avalanche · flood · overload · saturation · glut · pileup · excess · dense · undigestible · frontloading
tutorial
Instructional step-by-step guide
- manualWritten instructions for use
- briefingConcise information session
- trainingDeveloping abilities through practice
walkthrough · onboarding · how-to · documentation · lecture · explanation · handbook · guide · orientation · explainer
overwhelming
Intensely excessive in force
- disorientingCausing loss of direction
- convolutedExcessively complex or twisted
- incomprehensibleImpossible to understand
muddled · jumbled · cluttered · dense · impenetrable · unclear · unfollowable · tangled · labyrinthine · lost
boring
Failing to engage interest
- monotonousUnchangingly dull
- dryFree from moisture
- tediousBoring through length
droning · yawn-inducing · mind-numbing · dreary · plodding · listless · disengaging · skimmable · long-winded · bloated
info-dumpsshow don't tell
Writing principle favoring demonstration
drip-feed · slow reveal · breadcrumb trail · subtext · withholding
info-dumpswithholding
Keeping from another
restraint · ellipsis · minimalism · understatement · deliberate ambiguity
info, dump, dumps, information, inform, informs, informed, informing, informer