: Re: Is This a Bad Infodump? I’m kind of in a dilemma. If I was to write a prologue to a fantasy story about the history of the kingdom and the political scope of what is happening there,

@Pierce369

You can move the "infodump" out of the main narrative, and include it as reference material in the front-matter or appendices.

For example, instead of your MC reciting the list of important events leading to the start of the story, include these in a timeline at the front of the book.

The reader will not read it before they start, but they will refer back to it as events are mentioned in the text. Or you can use a footnote to suggest a reader refer to it.

Likewise with maps, geneologies, Dramatis Personae, etc.

NB: historical novelists have the same problem and handle it (I think) slightly better than fantasy writers. CJ Sansom's "Shardlake" series and Colleen McCullough's "Masters of Rome" are good examples to follow.

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