Creative Writing and the Avoidance of Cabbage
In creative writing, there is a useful technique for getting information to the reader without a long introduction with copious background information. No doubt we’re all aware of the movie that opens with a narrator giving us the back-story to set the scene for the action to come in a massive info-dump. “It is the year 2268 AD and the world’s population have rebelled against the technology of terror warfare, blamed for the great holocaust of 2207...” This could go on for several pages before we actually get to even meet the protagonist. Most writers know that info-dumping like this is to be avoided. But there is a better way to get this information to the audience, and good writers do it well. The technique I'm talking about is clever use of dialogue. The trick is to get your characters to say things that will clue your audience in on what they need to know. Imagine a couple of field workers taking a break from their work, and one saying to the other, “My Grandfather always s...