Dialogue - Plot - Avoiding Info Dumps
Dialogue propels your story forward and makes every exchange meaningful
When dialogue carries weight, it doesn’t sound like a lecture. It breathes. It dodges. It reveals through tension, omission, and rhythm.
✨Have you ever had someone tell you their entire life story all at once? How did that feel?
Let’s explore how to embed exposition inside conflict, how to let subtext do the heavy lifting, and how to trust your reader to connect the dots.
Dialogue doesn’t just fill space—it propels your story forward, actively shapes the story and characters, and makes every exchange meaningful. A short story thrives on immediacy, tension, and emotional impact, and if you spend too much time explaining past events, it takes away from the action unfolding in the present.
✨Write freely—brainstorm all the backstory you need. No draft is wasted. But readers crave action, not exposition.
In revision, choose only the strongest lines and thread them into the dialogue. Let clarity and craft reveal the depth behind the scenes.
Pitfalls
Overburdensome Backstory
Heavy narration can bog down the story, making it feel tedious. Without dialogue to break up the text, scenes may lack momentum.
Exposition-heavy: Maria had lived in the city for ten years. She had come from a small town and still wasn’t used to the fast pace of urban life.
Dialogue-driven: “I still don’t get how people rush everywhere,” Maria muttered, watching the subway doors slam shut. “You’ve lived here for a decade, and you’re still shocked by it?” Tom laughed. “Small town habits die hard.”
In the second version, readers gather that Maria is originally from a small town, has been in the city for years, and still struggles with its fast pace—without a block of narration.
More problems include
Forced Exposition in Dialogue – Characters explaining things they already know just for the reader’s benefit. (“As you know, John, we’ve been partners for ten years…”)
Overloading a Single Scene – Dumping huge chunks of world-building or backstory all at once, overwhelming the reader.
Unnatural Inner Monologues – A character’s thoughts reading like a Wikipedia page instead of genuine reflection.
Unnecessary Details Too Soon – Giving excessive history before the reader has a reason to care.
Lack of Emotional Connection – Information presented without character relevance or emotional weight.
Interrupting Momentum – A tense action or emotional moment derailed by excessive exposition.
Pointers
A good trick is to sprinkle a little backstory in naturally to keep readers curious without overwhelming them—weave in just enough context through character reactions, subtext, or a brief, well-placed detail rather than dropping full explanations. That way, readers stay immersed and actively engaged.
Dialogue is one of the most efficient ways to move a story forward without bogging it down with excessive narration. Here’s how to compose dialogue for compact and efficient forward motion:
Reduce Lengthy Exposition
Rather than detailing a character’s history, use their words to convey context, urgency, or relationships, while revealing key details and emotions in just a few lines.
Exposition-heavy: “John had been waiting at the diner for an hour. He checked his watch and sighed, wondering if Lisa would ever show up.”
Dialogue-driven: “Lisa, you’re an hour late. I was about to leave.”
Compress Conflict & Decisions in Real Time
Instead of showing their internal deliberation, let characters’ words reveal tension, urgency, or emotional stakes the moment they speak.
Exposition-heavy: “Maria debated whether to tell him the truth. It would ruin everything, but she couldn’t keep it inside anymore.”
Dialogue-driven: “I have to tell you something. You’re not going to like it.”
Reveal Conflict Naturally
Instead of summarizing the situation, let characters express frustration, defensiveness, or vulnerability through their words and tone.
Exposition-heavy: Ben and Jake had been fighting for weeks. Ben was tired of Jake’s stubbornness, but neither wanted to apologize first.
Dialogue-driven: “You still mad?” Jake asked, kicking a rock down the street. “Did you suddenly learn to listen?” Ben shot back. Jake sighed. “You know, sometimes you could just say you want to fix things.” “Maybe you could stop making it so hard.”
Streamline Action with Embedded Details
Subtly guide action and reveal character backstory without overt narration. Let their spoken words and behavior suggest depth and emotion beneath the surface.
Exposition-heavy: “Marcus had spent five years in the army, served two tours overseas, and lost his best friend in combat. After leaving, he struggled with nightmares and the weight of survivor’s guilt but tried to keep it hidden. He worked a quiet job now, avoiding confrontation whenever possible.”
Dialogue-driven: “You always sit facing the door,” she said, watching Marcus scan the diner. “Habit.”
The second version allows the reader to infer Marcus’s past rather than being handed all the details at once. It builds intrigue and emotional depth while keeping a natural flow.
In future emails, we’ll discuss other options for tightening this scene through action: His hands tightened around the coffee mug when a loud bang echoed from the kitchen.
& internal thought: Night was the worst. Some memories never stayed buried, no matter how hard he tried.
By using tight, purposeful dialogue, writers create a sense of momentum—keeping readers engaged while efficiently driving the story forward.
🌿Imagine your character secretly eavesdropping on a conversation, hearing only fragments—write the conversation heard, giving just enough information to draw a mental image without dumping everything at once.
Punctuation!
Now for last week’s question: How do you punctuate dialogue when a character is angry or excited?!?!
🖊️ The interrobang, a mix of a question mark and an exclamation point, conveys shocked questioning, disbelief, or intense emotion—like “You did what?!” While it’s useful in casual writing, overuse weakens the impact, making dialogue feel exaggerated.
Try instead to help readers feel the emotion instead of being told about it:
Context & word choice: “You did what?” she whispered, eyes wide.
Action beats: “You did what?” He slammed the table, face flushed.
Sentence structure: Breaking dialogue into fragments adds urgency—“You… You did what?”
Unless otherwise noted, all answers to the punctuation questions will be based on the After Dinner Conversation magazine’s style guide, which follows the Chicago Manual of Style.
The Journey Continues…
🖊️ How does American English differ from British English when punctuating dialogue?
Next week, we’ll answer this question and continue our discussion with tips and tools on using dialogue for conflict and tension.
Until then, may your pages hum with purpose and clarity.
Great points! I love writing dialog. Sometimes too much so I break in a little indirect dialog narration...
"What was that you said?" She asked. John repeated his admonition not to go to the party.
Your army guy dialog example tho doesn't tell us anything about his inner state. I always sit facing the door by habit too, but because I read it in DUNE back when I was 14! 😄🙄🤪