: Re: Is it sometimes okay to info dump to enhance your story even if it's not necessary to the plot I am writing a YA novel in 3rd person limited. The first scene of the chapter opens in a high

@Shelley992

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Just like your last sentence mentions, always show and rarely tell. I believe there are some instances where telling might be good, but in a third-person limited perspective, it just doesn't fit.
There are a couple of ways of providing information about the school.
One way could be a new student who gets a tour of the school and its yards. Allowing you to infodump through conversation.
Another might be students giving bits and pieces throughout the dialogue as the story progresses.
You could have a yearly opening ceremony in which the principle rambles on and gives the same speech each year.
That's just three examples and there are lot more you could think of.
I feel you wrote a good and funny paragraph or two and would hate to see them go to waste. But a writer needs to be merciless and get rid of any text that drags his story down. You might think the text is engaging, but if it slows down your story at all and if you can feel it dragging the story on, it really doesn't have anything to do in it.
(I feel you know it's dragging the story down since you made this post.)
Be merciless, but fair.
EDIT Just for clarifications my answer is to infodump with the style. There is always a way to show.

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