The obvious response is to include it within the dialogue - A asks B questions, B answers, giving A - and the reader - the necessary information. There can be several problems with this approach:
1. The amount of information needed means the exchange has to go on for pages - remember that dialogue plays out in roughly the same amount of time on the page as it would in real life.
2. A can look like an idiot as they keep having to give little prompts: Go on, what happened next, and then? It's like those interviews on TV where you keep cutting to shots of the interviewer nodding away (these are even called 'noddies' in the business).
3. If A is also likely to know the information they look even more like an idiot. You sometimes see it on programmes like Time Team when one of the experts interviews another expert: So, when did the Romans leave Britain? Around the UK you can hear people shouting at the TV saying, You KNOW that.
So what to do instead?
1. Be up front.
Have A asked the initial question, then allow B to give all the information needed in a big chunk. Yes, people don't usually give long monologues in conversation, but there are occasions when people shut up and listen and it's often better than chopping the info into speech sized pieces.
2. Use summary.
'So, did the Romans use concrete?' A asked.
'They were masters at making concrete,' B said with a smile before launching into a long monologue about how Roman concrete was stronger than any concrete used until the end of the C20th, how they used special materials from volcanic regions to make the strongest concrete, and how the formulae had only recently been uncovered.
3. If your viewpoint character knows the information, then put some of it into their thoughts rather than in dialogue.
'So, did the Romans use concrete?' A asked.
'They were masters at making concrete,' B said, wondering if A was genuinely interested, or only being polite. Roman concrete was stronger than any concrete used until the end of the C20th because they used special materials from volcanic regions to make the strongest concrete. But would A be interested in all that? Or even some of it? 'They've only recently discovered the formulae the Romans used,' B said, watching A to gauge their reaction.
If you've decided against hiding the info dump in dialogue, there are alternatives:
1. You could have A read a newspaper/magazine article which contains the information. This would mean you'd have to write it through A's eyes.
2. You could print the newspaper/magazine article in its entirety. Then the reader decides what they make of it - you often see this when A is stupider than B, so B then has to explain the significance.
3. You could use the authorial voice to give the information. If you take this option, then make sure the authorial voice is nuanced just as you would a character's voice. John Irvine is a good example of a writer using the authorial voice to give information. Dan Brown is not.
I think I've used most of these techniques in my time - just remember that the reader needs to be entertained as well as informed.
Anyone in Bristol/S. Glos? I'm speaking at Patchway Library on Thursday 13th at 7.00 - Details here!
