LOL, nice way to put it. Yeah, I explored telling. *snigger*
Gingerwoman- 01-04-2008
You might have a point there. I wonder if YA stuff needs things like infodumps?
No it's just that it was a series and there was a long gap beyween each book coming out (H-Potter)
JL Stratton- 01-05-2008
I agree with what others are saying here that there really is little place for an infordump before story action begins.
I am also very new here and have written mostly science fiction short stories before. I found that I have been guilty of the infodump. but also learned that there are ways around it.
Case in point. If you go to the secret workshop and follow my post about a sexy story con-*test*-('") entry, you will find that I started out with a two page infodump for a 5K word story. I was quickly found out but the kind folks here helped me through it and now my little story looks nothing like it did before, starts with action and character development, and ends with good ole' sex.
My story, with its weak plot and mostly just sex, may not be worthy of publlication in the e-book market but I learned a valuable lesson-never settle for an infodump when you can weave the information into the story.
Of course, I don't personally know what the e-publishers are looking for but I can recognize a well-written story two out of three times and, in the end, I believe that's what readers will come back to time and again.
Thanks again you guys,
JL Stratton
Marguerite Mingorance- 01-05-2008
Actually, I think there are ways, and then there are ways, if you know what I mean. I think 999 out of 1000 infodumps are boring because they're just bland. But then there is that one case in 1000 where it's done right, like the prologue to the Lord of the Rings movies, where the combination of imagery and Kate Blanchett's voice make it all fascinating. It's the emotional content that makes for good writing. I think it can be done, but you have to get it just...so.
Ungood- 04-04-2008
Re: Infodumps in erotic romance I'm new to erotic romance and still learning the conventions of the genre. One convention in particular puzzles me. Nine out of ten of the erotic romance ebooks I see start with an infodump--"As Marie scanned the men lined up at the bar, she wondered whether one of them would be the One. Ever since becoming Grand Exalted Poobah of the local werewolf tribes, no fellow werewolf had dared to take her on, and even human men avoided her, warned away by the faint aura of power she exuded. Incidentally, she grew up in Cincinnati and spent three years trekking the foorhills of India before settling in Duluth, where she met the werewolf lord who bit her. But let's go back to the studs at the bar. Don't worry, you'll get to know all about the werewolf lord in a chapter and a half."
Well... I believe this is done so that you the reader might want to know why this hot sexy woman who is scanning guys at a bar can't go home with a man that night... or is happy about a man not wetting themselves at her advances...
If I was to bypass the background bit here... it would go something like..
""As Marie scanned the men lined up at the bar, she wondered whether one of them would be the One. Allowing her long legs and full hips to catch the attention of tonights prey..." - this is where we jump right to the sex -...
"Is this because readers want to get the background over with as quickly as possible and get on to the romance? Do readers actually expect and prefer this kind of beginning? Or is it a quality control and sampling issue? I'm not trying to be snarky or judgemental, I really do want to understand what the market likes.
I think it might be because some people might want to know the basics, Who, What. Where, and Why... before they jump straight to the sex parts...
But I am new at this... and that is just my feeling as a reader at this point...
A S Jacob- 05-23-2008
I know what you mean, it drives me crazy.
Gurnick the blue haired alien thought it over as he manicured his nails (or something) had to find a mate within three days of a full moon or die because of an ancient magical pact of his people (excessive details inserted here). On his planet there is a full moon every 300 years, but now he had crash landed on earth. Oh woe is me, he thought (unconvincingly) as he looked up at the full moon. I wonder if a gorgeous native Earth girl will wander past on her way to her night shift at the local Denny's.
etc
Some publishers *coughEllora'sCavecough* seem particularly prone to this. I still don't consider it actually compulsary to write in the genre, for any publisher. ;)
It may be something that bothers writer-readers much more than reader-readers, like head hopping.
It's also pretty hackneyed and grammatically incorrect. I'm surprised at how much trite crud gets published these days. I don't care if it's not original, but at least write it coherently!! Moreover, I find that a lot of fan fiction books (I know they aren't erotica) are the worst of the bunch in this said annoyance :S
Gingerwoman- 09-19-2008
I have been criticized for not giving enough back story early on. :?
Which goes against all my how-to books, and then I pick up the top selling ebooks and they start in a way I thought was a literary crime. :?
veinglory- 09-19-2008
I think there are ways to give a lot of back story without writing what reads like a wikipedia entry. Just as you can describe the character without sounding like a police blotter ;)
Gingerwoman- 09-19-2008
EC I'm am noticing that many of the EC books I read do start in a certain way...I'm wondering if I should do that if pitching to EC.
It was in erotic romance first chapter con-*test*-('")s I had complaints about not enough back story. I felt confused as I had taken the backstory out on the advice of a crit partner.
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