tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post113760988470251951..comments2024-03-28T02:00:11.260-05:00Comments on A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Down in the InfodumpsJA Konrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1137710542750567442006-01-19T16:42:00.000-06:002006-01-19T16:42:00.000-06:00"That doesn't work. Readers would never buy it."LO..."That doesn't work. Readers would never buy it."<BR/><BR/>LOL. Biggest laugh of the day.Rob Gregory Brownehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11952008139132652259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1137704118496689192006-01-19T14:55:00.000-06:002006-01-19T14:55:00.000-06:00I'm surprised nobody has suggested "show, don't te...I'm surprised nobody has suggested "show, don't tell." Don't tell me what the toxic substance does. Show it!<BR/><BR/>Suppose the antagonist plans to use a big does of the nasty ingredient. You could work in a flashback where he had to steal or otherwise acquire the substance, and in that scene he might spill a tiny bit. Show what the stuff does and hint at what would happen on a larger scale.<BR/><BR/>This was done quite effectively at the beginning of the movie, _The Rock_.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1137698529026003032006-01-19T13:22:00.000-06:002006-01-19T13:22:00.000-06:00"Or you can just take the Dan Brown route and have..."Or you can just take the Dan Brown route and have some paper-thin character lecture another paper-thin character for chapter after chapter until you've regurgitated all the info you care to share."<BR/><BR/>That doesn't work. Readers would never buy it.JA Konrathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1137654159843063272006-01-19T01:02:00.000-06:002006-01-19T01:02:00.000-06:00i hate writing those scenes. i think it's because...i hate writing those scenes. i think it's because i can never get lost in the story because i have to be aware of technique. i can't just let it roll.<BR/><BR/>yep, i'm lazy.anne frasierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13044828332429421657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1137649334774808142006-01-18T23:42:00.000-06:002006-01-18T23:42:00.000-06:00Good tips, Joe.I had to do a lot of research for m...Good tips, Joe.<BR/><BR/>I had to do a lot of research for my book on drugs and the effects on users. I did my best not to info dump but used the effects in one or two lines of description. For example, eye dialation, wide eyes, fidgeting, and used slang terms.<BR/><BR/>It paid off not to use too much info. =)Kelly (Lynn) Parrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04827605655761900263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1137638214858953932006-01-18T20:36:00.000-06:002006-01-18T20:36:00.000-06:00Seriously, these are good tips, Joe. I did quite ...Seriously, these are good tips, Joe. I did quite a bit of research on animal rendering plants and mad cow disease for my first novel, and I handled the info dump the same ways as you are. I boiled thirty or so pages of research material down to one paragraph and a few dialogue snippets.<BR/><BR/>The writern needs to know all the details; the reader doesn't. Just enough to make it believable.Jude Hardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09994813046526310594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1137638117169315492006-01-18T20:35:00.000-06:002006-01-18T20:35:00.000-06:00I always think of how information like backstory, ...I always think of how information like backstory, MSDS sheets (for hazardous materials, etc.) might be presented in a movie. Usually, they're extremely glossed over.Bob Farleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12511976142310659750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1137628072156783082006-01-18T17:47:00.000-06:002006-01-18T17:47:00.000-06:00Rob...I agree...the info dump I had to do, I put i...Rob...I agree...the info dump I had to do, I put in during a fight scene. None of my critique partnets even noticed it was there!Bonnie S. Calhounhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11769607640246518804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1137624408405905582006-01-18T16:46:00.000-06:002006-01-18T16:46:00.000-06:00"The substance is BT."Ah. Bachman-Turner. I was ..."The substance is BT."<BR/><BR/>Ah. Bachman-Turner. I was overexposed to that in the 70s.<BR/><BR/>Truly toxic.Jude Hardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09994813046526310594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1137623927943570802006-01-18T16:38:00.000-06:002006-01-18T16:38:00.000-06:00You can always use the "asking questions of a teac...You can always use the "asking questions of a teacher" ploy. Get the teacher, lecturer, or knowledgeable person to tell the dumb cop (or whoever) what they need to know, and - Hey Presto! The reader knows too.Author-Geraldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07413814636704961731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1137621920234616872006-01-18T16:05:00.000-06:002006-01-18T16:05:00.000-06:00An old screenwriter's trick is to throw in all the...An old screenwriter's trick is to throw in all the exposition during an action scene. Seems like it wouldn't work, but, if handled correctly, it does...Rob Gregory Brownehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11952008139132652259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1137621280762941852006-01-18T15:54:00.000-06:002006-01-18T15:54:00.000-06:00I grew up in the South and when I was very young m...I grew up in the South and when I was very young my Grandmother used to mix skanky medicine with sugar and a shot of Jack.<BR/><BR/>Now I don't know if that's how I acquired a taste for alcohol but it sure made me eager for the skanky medicine...<BR/><BR/>Great post.Confessions of a Starving Mystery Writer https://www.blogger.com/profile/00731772701795707624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1137620427811047012006-01-18T15:40:00.000-06:002006-01-18T15:40:00.000-06:00Numbers 3 & 4 are especially good advice. It's eas...Numbers 3 & 4 are especially good advice. It's easy to forget that readers have brains of their own that they're not afraid to use.<BR/><BR/>Now to rewrite one of my scenes...Daniel Hatadihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00453583064175651509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1137620343301994682006-01-18T15:39:00.000-06:002006-01-18T15:39:00.000-06:00This is verg good advice. Thanks, Joe. :)This is verg good advice. Thanks, Joe. :)Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06106410070220667314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1137615775338492102006-01-18T14:22:00.000-06:002006-01-18T14:22:00.000-06:00Thanks, Mark. I'll be in touch if I have any quest...Thanks, Mark. I'll be in touch if I have any questions.JA Konrathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1137615598193459852006-01-18T14:19:00.000-06:002006-01-18T14:19:00.000-06:00"Can we read the passage, see how you pulled it of..."Can we read the passage, see how you pulled it off?"<BR/><BR/>Absoultely. The book is DIRTY MARTINI, available July 6, 2007, for $24.95 from Hyperion.<BR/><BR/>The substance is BT.<BR/><BR/>McGlade isn't in this scene, but he's in the next one. For some reason I can write McGlade quicker than any other character. Perhaps because superficiality comes easily to me.JA Konrathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1137615500411901192006-01-18T14:18:00.000-06:002006-01-18T14:18:00.000-06:00Joe--e-mail me!B.Sc. in Microbiology & Public Heal...Joe--e-mail me!<BR/><BR/>B.Sc. in Microbiology & Public Health. Published stories featuring forensic toxicologist. Have a friend who is a toxicologist. I can help.<BR/><BR/>Best,<BR/>MarkAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1137612897852793952006-01-18T13:34:00.001-06:002006-01-18T13:34:00.001-06:00I'm curious. What is the substance?A lot of times...I'm curious. What is the substance?<BR/><BR/>A lot of times the reader doesn't need to know much, just that it's fatal or whatever. How much do we really know about Kryptonite?<BR/><BR/>Can we read the passage, see how you pulled it off?Jude Hardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09994813046526310594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1137612884069214592006-01-18T13:34:00.000-06:002006-01-18T13:34:00.000-06:00"I'm breaking up the info with conflict--two of th..."I'm breaking up the info with conflict--two of the characters in the scene are flirting, and one is acting like a jerk."<BR/><BR/>So does that mean that McGlade is in this scene?<BR/><BR/>AdamAdam Hurtubisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17193951132941597473noreply@blogger.com