Your Turn: Dialogue - Plot - Avoiding Info Dump
Clarity doesn’t require everything—it requires the right thing at the right time.
Welcome to the Your Turn page of Revisions & Revelations—a creative-writing workout space! This is your playground and your proving ground—a space to stretch, flex, and grow your storytelling muscles one juicy prompt at a time.
Push your boundaries. Create with heart. Edit with purpose and courage. Discover new layers of your voice. Make messes, chase magic, and laugh on this writing adventure.
Most of all, celebrate your progress—every single step counts.
The only rule: Be kind. Mistakes aren’t failures—they’re footprints on the path to brilliance.
Save your work, revisit it later, and marvel at your progress. You’re building something extraordinary.
The world’s waiting for your story. Let’s go write it.
Trust Your Readers
You’ve built a rich world, layered characters, and intricate backstories—and you want readers to appreciate the depth. The temptation is to front-load that brilliance, but readers don’t need the whole iceberg—just the tip that moves the story.
Info dumps often appear early in a draft, when the writer is still figuring things out. But readers want to discover the world, not be handed a manual. Trusting them to infer is an act of narrative generosity.
Do you worry readers will be lost without context? Perhaps you’re overcompensating with exposition.
Clarity doesn’t require everything—it requires the right thing at the right time.
Writers sometimes use dialogue to sneak in exposition, but if both characters already know the info, it rings false. The dreaded “As you know, Bob…” moment is a red flag that the writer is talking to the reader, not through the characters.
Fun Facts
🔎Shakespeare was the original info-dump ninja
He used clowns, fools, and servants to deliver exposition in a way that felt entertaining and character-driven. Think of the Gravedigger in Hamlet—he’s giving backstory while cracking skull jokes.
🔎The “As You Know, Bob” trope is older than you think
It dates back to early radio dramas, where writers had to catch listeners up quickly. But savvy writers now flip it—having characters mock the trope or interrupt each other to keep it real.
🔎Dialogue can delay plot to build tension
In thrillers, characters often talk around the truth, creating suspense through omission. What’s not said becomes the heartbeat of the scene.
🔎Interruption is a plot device
When a character is about to reveal something crucial and gets cut off, it’s not just drama—it’s a pacing tool. Interruptions create micro-cliffhangers that keep readers turning pages.
🔎Pixar’s Rule of Thumb
“Give the audience 2 + 2, not 4.” Let readers infer. Dialogue should hint, not explain. This invites engagement and rewards close reading.
🔎The “conflict sandwich”
Slip a slice of exposition between two emotionally charged lines. The tension makes the info feel urgent and necessary, not indulgent.
Practice Prompts
Ready to put theory into practice? Below, you’ll find hands-on exercises designed to help you embed plot into dialogue organically—without dumping exposition or sacrificing voice. These aren’t just prompts—they’re story sharpeners. You’ll learn how to conceal truth inside conflict, unfold backstory through interruption, and let rhythm carry what words don’t say.
So, roll up your sleeves. The art of subtlety starts on the next line.
✍️ The “Interruption Chain” Scene
Purpose: To explore how characters handle tension and urgency through layered dialogue without relying on direct exposition.
Choose two characters—either from your current project or freshly imagined.
Give one of them a crucial piece of backstory or world info they need to share.
Now set the scene: Every time they attempt to deliver that info, they’re interrupted—by another person, an unexpected event, or their own hesitation.
Write a 1–2-page dialogue-only scene where the information is never plainly stated but still emerges through tone, misdirection, or what’s not said.
What this reveals:
What does each character prioritize in a crisis?
How does urgency shape rhythm—do they speed up or shut down?
What emotional layers wrap around the withheld information?
Which lines end up carrying double or triple meaning under pressure?
✍️ “Beneath the Banter” Banquet
Purpose: To practice embedding plot and worldbuilding inside sensory-rich, playful dialogue.
Picture a social gathering where several characters (3–5) must sit together for a meal.
Write their table conversation—but make it deliberately evasive. No one speaks directly about the central conflict or secret.
Instead, let them tell stories, joke, gossip, toast—let everything feel offhand.
Drop clues: mannerisms, repeated phrases, food metaphors, awkward silences, interrupted toasts.
What this reveals:
How do characters camouflage important truths when others are listening?
What metaphors do they fall back on?
How can small talk pulse with threat, alliance, or longing beneath its surface?
✍️ “One Lie, One Truth” Dialogue
Purpose: To build subtext and misdirection into a short dialogue scene while slipping in exposition naturally.
Choose two characters in conflict—one knows a secret; the other is trying to uncover it.
Write a short exchange (300–500 words) where each line must do one of two things:
Reveal a truth masked in emotion or metaphor
Conceal a lie behind humor, vagueness, or misdirection
The truth-teller can’t state facts directly. The liar must sound believable.
What this reveals:
How do characters weaponize tone, rhythm, and choice of words?
What does each character think the other already knows?
Can readers intuit the secret by feeling the imbalance of honesty?
What do you think?
What do you find most difficult about balancing natural dialogue with the need to convey backstory or worldbuilding?
What’s the funniest word you’ve ever read in a story?
Drop me a line if there’s something you’d like to see in the “Your Turn” space!
Until next time, happy writing!