Info Dump x 3

[Bearman1]

Hi Guys,

I've hit a real problem in my WIP that I need your help with.

I have 3 seperated main characters, each fighting for a different god in the same war. The problem I have is that all three of them are going to need to be told about the history of this war. It's going to be an info dump, but one that I think I can manage and keep interesting the first time I tell it.

But I can't possibly tell the same story 3 times over without boring the pants off of the reader.

Anyone have any advice on how to get around this?

Thanks,

 

[Butterfly]

You could write it as a prelude to the chapter at each of the characters at their first appearance... especially if the history is told differently to each of the three POVs. I'd assume each one would put their own versions out to explain their own sides of the history ~ motivations, etc and especially to portray themselves in the best possible light.

That might be more interesting than the same story three times.

 

[Feo Takahari]

A lot of writers would kill me for even suggesting this, but head-hopping might actually be your friend here. You could bounce back and forth between the three, hearing different versions of the story in different places.

-- -- -- --

"But why did God X choose to rebel?" asked character J.

"Because God Y treated him unfairly," the priest of X replied. "He deprived me of what was rightfully mine . . ."

-- -- -- --

"God Y was nothing but fair to God X," the priest of Y said. "But X grew greedy, seeking more than he deserved . . ."

-- -- -- --

Let each fill in the gaps in the other's story. It's a bit tricky to pull off well, but it's worth a try.

 

[Penpilot]

Tell the story once, and when it comes time to tell the story a second and third time, simply just skip over it with a segue right to the end. Say something like, "Sam told the story of the war while Bob listened. It took an hour, but when Sam was done, Bob then understood everything."

There's no need to tell it three times unless there's a specific point or purpose to it that's significant to the story.

 

[2WayParadox]

If it's realle the same story three times over, then I wouldn't bother telling it thrice. However, is that the case? The things that the stories have in common, the raw facts, those I would only mention once. But since this is a religious war -my assumption- it would make sense if each party has some dogmatic standpoints, some propaganda, just something in general that gives them a different look on the events.

They're all part of the war and unless they came from a different planet, they know about it. (and frankly, if they are then it feels like strenuous credibility to drop three heroes in three different camps) So I would briefly mention the commonalities and then zoom in on one battle or event or personage in the war that's seen very differently in each party.

 

[Bearman1]

Wow, guys, thanks for all the helpful tips.

I especially like the idea of head hopping, as it think it would work well with each religion depicting the history differently. However, I don't think I will be able to orchestrate the story so that each character is hearing the history for the first time all at the same point in the novel.

I will definitely be using propaganda from each side to mix the tale up and I think I will just need to skim over the same details like you have all suggested. If I can just jump into the main points of the history for each character then hopefully it will remain interesting each time of telling.

 

[Nimue]

Definitely agree that you shouldn't repeat anything you don't absolutely have to; you can always use scene or chapter breaks, or summary, to skip over what the reader already knows.

An alternate suggestion is that you shouldn't relate the complete story in the first place--or in any of the tellings. Leave some things out, to be told later, so that not only is the reader learning about the perspectives of the different groups, but they're still learning about the event. Shouldn't the protagonists all know at least something about the events, like their own people's role in it, their people's heroes? Don't rehash whatever they know, but leave that to be revealed by the other groups, in whatever light they would tell it. If this is a well-constructed and interesting story--and if it's this central to your narrative I hope it is--it should hold up to being told across chapters.

I really like those moments in a good book when you read a line that changes how you think about established events. It sounds like you have a scenario ripe for setting up expectations and then overturning them. Complex perspectives make for interesting worlds.

 

[skip.knox]

Why do the characters need to be told the history? You should be clear in your own mind as to why the *story* needs the history told.

Once you have that, remember that your characters don't need to be told the whole story or even told the truth. Soldiers are rarely told such things.

Also, who is doing the telling?

Also, do they need (that is, does the story need) to have the histories told at the same time? On sequential days? Doesn't really matter? That could also condition when and how you do the telling.

But it all depends on that first question: why does it need to be told. Then comes what, then come when and how.

 

[ScipioSmith]

Is there any reason that all three characters have to be ignorant of the story? If one of them knows even some of the details, even if the story is obscure, it would not only save you the exposition but also reveal something about that person.

Also, leaving aside religious dogma etc, unless the three people telling the story are reading off a script, their telling should reveal something about their characters, both in terms of their personal connection to events (a man describing the destruction of a far off village will tell it differently to a man describing the destruction of his own village and the loss of his family) and class, status etc. Little things like that can make it fun and bearable for the readers.

 

[ThinkerX]

Skip called it right. Time of war, what your characters are going to be hearing is propaganda, not history. Slogans and Sound bite speeches. Plus, unless your characters are very unusual, they are unlikely to want more than the slogans.

I will suggest something here that I have before:

Give each chapter a very short prequel - no more than three or four sentences. These prequels are historical quotes, bits of folk-lore, and what not, which convey this history from the different sides perspectives. One could be a scholarly excerpt, another part of a priests speech, while a third might be a snippet of first hand testimony. Between them, they give a chaotic, fragmentary account of the war.

For the story itself, the characters knowledge of its history is limited to slogans and the odd campfire story '...this is what happened the last time our side marched into these lands...that ruin up there is a border outpost our grandfathers built.'