189. World-Building Without Information Dumping

“ I really recommend you write your book anyway. Let it be as messy and chaotic as first drafts are.” - Beth Barany

Hooking a reader in at the beginning without overwhelming them with information is essential, which is why in this How To Write the Future podcast episode, “World-Building Without Information Dumping” host Beth Barany breaks down how to draw your reader in by starting with your main character’s perspective, introducing key elements and essential details gradually. 

MORE RESOURCES

3 Powerful Techniques to Weave Backstory Into Your Novel by Beth Barany

https://writersfunzone.com/blog/2024/12/12/3-powerful-techniques-to-weave-backstory-into-your-novel/

Where to insert backstory (Q&A)

https://writersfunzone.com/blog/2024/08/12/where-to-insert-backstory-qa/

Search Result Resources on Writers Fun Zone

https://writersfunzone.com/blog/?s=podcast+world+building

Decode The Obsidian Tower’s Setting

https://writersfunzone.com/blog/2026/01/12/decode-the-obsidian-towers-setting/

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Transcript

189. World-Building Without Information Dumping

Introduction and Host Background

BETH BARANY: What are your recommendations for world building without information dumping right in the beginning? Thank you so much for your question, Julia. 

Hi everyone. This is Beth Barany, host of How to Write the Future Podcast. I'm an award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer and a writing teacher and coach helping writers with exactly these questions.

So what are my recommendations for world building without information dumping right in the beginning? Now I have to say I've addressed this issue multiple times here in the podcast, so I'll be sure to link those references in the show notes, on the blog, wherever you can read up about the podcast.

[00:41] Starting with the Main Character's Perspective

I'm just gonna say off the top of my head, the very first thing you do is: you really wanna come from your point of view character. You want to tell your story from their perspective, through their eyes, through their thoughts, through their experiences. So if you are gonna give us some very important world building clue at the very beginning of your story, make sure it's in their voice and just indicate it in the most compelling way possible and the most essential element possible. 

[01:14] Using Epigraphs and Prologues Effectively

The other option is you can write a kind of news report or encyclopedic entry, but make it full of voice or some kind of report from some other character who is reporting, and epigraphs are great for that. But short of doing an epigraph or a prologue in someone else's voice, make sure the opening of your story is in your main character's perspective.

[01:39] Showcasing World Building Through Character Stakes

So there's another episode that I put out recently that is showcasing how an author does this very, very well, where we learn a little bit about the story world, but entirely from the perspective of the main character. And it's actually revealing the most important thing about the story world through the main character's thoughts. And it's really also about what's at stake for this main character. 

So one way to do it is think about what are the rules of the road, so to speak, in your story world, and what are the rules of the story world that the most deeply impact your main character? 

And how can you have your main character talk about that in the first, opening paragraphs.

See if you can put it out there in just 50 words and make it short and punchy and emotional and relevant to the story, of course, relevant to the main character, and points to the highest stakes for them.

So in fantasy, it's often a binary between good and bad or good and evil. Or in the case of the book that I referenced, The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso, it's about magic that brings life and magic that kills, and it directly relates to our main character because she has a kind of magic that kills and that has huge stakes and is the center question of the story.

[03:02] Balancing World Building in Revisions

So if you are a plotter and you've done your deep character work, and you know what the main internal dilemma is for your main character, how can you presence that at the very beginning of your story and reveal the rules of your story world?

If you are a panster, or halfway through like I am where I know a lot about my character and story, but not everything, and I spend a lot of time in revisions, making the beginning really represent who my character is and what's important to her, and what's at stake.

In revisions, I too focus on how do I highlight the story world, the elements of the story world 'cause I'm writing science fiction in that case, and what's truly important to the character. 

[03:46] Practical Examples from the Author's Work

The current story I'm working on is really about family and someone calling her from outta the blue from some unknown location to bring her into a mystery related to family the grandmother she didn't even know was still alive. I have technology in my science fiction world, kind of in the background at the opening this chapter, and then I start to drip more and more about the story world as we go.

Granted, my book is book five in a series, but I also have to pay attention to- someone might read my book, and it might be the first book they read in the series. 

So I work hard with beta readers and critique partners and editors to make sure that I'm dropping enough clues that hint to the story world without overwhelming the reader. 

So there's one more fact about my main character, the fact that she has an ocular implant, I'm trying to figure out: how do I include that in the opening of my story in a way that feels natural?

So I'm still actually wrangling with that fact because at the beginning of the story, it isn't controversial. It's not a controversial issue, and it doesn't actually become a controversial issue throughout this entire story. It's one of her superpowers. 

So I may need to find something else that indicates the story world much better, the science fiction aspects of this world and hints at the stakes to come from my main character's perspective.

I already have a prologue, and I already have a little epigraph at the beginning of the book, so those two things I think really signal a lot about what's about to happen. So I'm still deciding about that. 

[05:21] Handling Information Dumps in Drafts

Just to show you that you don't have to know, at the beginning of your writing in your first draft, you don't have to know how to figure out this problem.

If you're concerned that you might be info dumping at the beginning, that is something you can look at in revisions.

If you don't know how to handle it, I really recommend you write your book anyway. Let it be as messy and chaotic as first drafts are.

You have my total permission, just write,write, write. And then when you're done with the first draft, you've done it as far as you can go. Then start to work with an editor, critique partners, beta readers, and figure out what you can take away from that opening.

[05:58] Conclusion and Final Advice

All right. That's it for this week, everyone. 

Write long and prosper.