Dump the info-dump: How to Write Fantasy Backstory

A vintage typewriter-shaped pen holder with jewel-topped pens sits next to a "Story Teller" mug, basking in sunlight on a windowsill.

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, it was ok to start your fantasy novel with a few pages of mind-numbingly boring introductions. This was where the author would give the reader a quick (or not so quick) heads-up about the world they’re about to dive into: who rules it, what recent wars took place in it, under which terror do the people there live—that kind of stuff.

It’s what made me put down a few classics I’ve been urged to read and will never pick up again.

It’s like an old-style way of trying your reader’s patience, forcing them to undergo a horrible sort of initiation before they’re allowed to start having fun.

It’s called an info-dump, and if there are people out there who enjoy them, well, I’m going to guess that making new friends isn’t their forte (and if you don’t like me writing this, go complain to your friends about it—oh, wait...).

Jokes aside, every beginner writer who’s read an article or two about the craft should know by now that info-dumps are out. As a society, we agreed to leave them in the past and not allow them into our books ever again.

But what if the fantasy book you’re writing takes place in a complex society, where past events shape the lives of people and creatures today? Events that happened long before the point at which you want to begin writing your story?

We all know that the rule is show, don’t tell, but how do you actually do that?

Let Characters Do the Talking

The simplest way to tell your reader about important past events is through the tongues of the people in your story.

People talk—be it in taverns over a mug of ale, in the fields while they’re working, and while traversing forests and hills on their quest to find the Stone of Digestion. Working these details into conversations could be a natural way to tell your reader about these people’s past.

And it doesn’t have to be one long conversation either—it can be sprinkled here and there, gradually exposing more of the events that shaped your fantastical land.

Conversation is a great tool because it also shows the people’s sentiments about an event.

“Remember that king that banished all the sea-goblins out of the sea? That guy sucked.”

“He sure did, Bob.”

Or perhaps:

“Mom, who was Rikard the Black-Hearted?”

“Where did you hear this name, sweety?”

“In my book…”

“He was an evil archmage, and we all celebrated when the bunny-eared-dragon ate him.”

You don’t need to write about the time the sea-goblins were banished or what transpired under the rule of Rikard the Black-Hearted. Your readers will get the gist from the characters’ conversations, their choice of words, and their overall sentiment.

Not only will it paint a picture of those plot-driving past events, it will also showcase the local culture, beliefs, and feelings of the people in your world.

Weaving History Into Culture

Another great way to teach your reader about past events they need to know about is through local culture, imbuing it with special events and customs.

Say there was a great battle a thousand years ago that had dire consequences on the land, after which the three ruling queens of the neighboring queendoms agreed to never fight again. This bit of history explains why this region of your fantasy land is the only one not to be plagued by war.

You could, of course, recount this dark time and the optimistic resolution. But why would you, if instead you could give the local people in your story a custom to commemorate this day by?

A custom could be a festive celebration with ale flowing like rivers, a solemn ceremony, or even a symbol (like a frog pin people wear that day because it was the wisdom of the frog that led the three warring queendoms to this resolution).

Adding a special day, symbol, or a celebration can be a natural way to weave that important information you want to reveal into your book. Not only does this serve your purpose, but it adds to the worldbuilding and makes the social landscape of your fantastical land more interesting, lively and complex.

You could also describe statues in central places in your world in honor of noteworthy characters. Statues your characters can pass by, giving you a convenient opportunity to describe them.

This method is also a great way to add some local sentiment regarding the people or events of the past (like, “As he turned a corner, the snout of the great fairy-pig came into sight, taller than the buildings around it. Henry loved this statue as a child, but ever since that day in the forest, he could never look at it again”).

When a Backstory Deserves Its Own Stage

If the information the reader needs to be aware of is too long or complex to be sprinkled into conversation or mentioned as part of customs, or if you want to bring more color and life into that event, you can use a prologue.

The prologue is like a chapter, but with a few major differences:

1. It doesn’t have to include the main characters your narrative will follow throughout the book.

2. It doesn’t have to be set in the same timeline as the rest of the book.

A prologue gives you more space than a few bits of conversations or background costumes.

But a prologue shouldn’t be a dry history lesson—it can be a story on its own.

You can take the time to get vivid and detailed about the event you want to portray: who the people were, what transpired, and how different groups felt about it.

This way, when your readers get to Chapter One, they will already have the required background to understand the world and its people. Only that instead of slogging through a tedious info-dump, they would have gathered this information in a more fluent and engaging way.

They’d be seeing this past event from behind a character’s eyes—even if that character died long before the main events of the book—and that’s always preferable to just reading the hard facts.

This method also aligns with the show, don’t tell guideline, since you can show the events as they unfold instead of reiterating them.

Conclusion

I don’t need to explain why the info dump is a no-no, right? It’s an outdated form of writing that endangers the success of your book (to be specific: people might not have the resilience to push through it to get to the actual story).

Luckily, there are many ways to avoid it while still providing your readers with the prerequisite information they need to better understand the course of events in your book.

Be it through the things people say, the customs and cultures you describe, or a prologue that allows for an elaborate scene—make your story an experience, not a textbook.