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How to work information into a book?



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Wed Nov 24, 2010 11:26 pm
MadameX says...



The main character of my story lives in futuristic India. She's the last Kumari Devi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumari_(children), which is a tradition where a young girl is chosen as a reincarnated goddess and lives as such until she reaches puberty, etc. This is a big part of my character's personality, but since its not something we hear about a lot in the western world, I'm trying to figure out how to work in exactly what it is into the story.

My main problem is that she doesn't like to talk about it, and it's not like people on the street recognize her, either. Later, when someone does figure out who she was, she's in a high-action situation (prison camp as a political enemy--she's an assassin) so there isn't much time for talk. One of my friends suggested adding a small information section before the actual story, but I'm kind of opposed to that idea.

Any suggestions?

EDIT: Part of my problem is that she's no longer a goddess, so I can't show it as her everyday life. I'm thinking I kind of wrote myself into a corner, unless I do flashbacks.
Last edited by MadameX on Thu Nov 25, 2010 7:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Thu Nov 25, 2010 1:11 pm
Rosendorn says...



Plain and simple? Don't try to work it in through info dumps.

As counter-intuitive as this might sound, only work it in through mentions you can show. Don't spell it out for us, and don't go out of your way to explain absolutely everything about this principle. Just have hints and scenes of her going through the motions of such practices, to let us know she's worshiped and she doesn't particularly care to bring it up in everyday. It can be something simple as a scene where she's got confections between the goddess-life and her normal life, or something else where her life is shown to us instead of just explained.

Without any excepts from the story it's hard to tell you more than that, but I'd really suggest not explaining it to us in detail. Instead, show how it works into her life (any special daily rituals? Times she risks injury/illness so she'd no longer be one?). Readers will thank you for not forcing infodumps on them that would stop the flow of the story.
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Fri Nov 26, 2010 9:57 pm
SaraAnne says...



Here's a quick suggestion, please feel free to take it or leave it.

Why don't you start the book with a prologue which is set in her childhood as the Kumari Devi. That will help establish the contrast between her childhood spent in a religious life and her present life as an assassin.

Just a suggestion, good luck. :)
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Sun Dec 26, 2010 3:06 pm
xwritingprincess21x says...



Maybe introduce this information of who she is in small snippets as they are uncovered in the story. Like maybe she is wearing something that reveals her true identity. Then she will be forced to explain who she truly is but just a part of it; the part that is related to the garment. Later on, during the fighting, perhaps you could talk about how she inherited those skills. What I don't think you should do is explain everything in one boring chunk because then I might fall asleep....Just kidding! I think it is more suspenseful if the reader slowly discovers the girls true identity, like the first episode of many superhero shows such as Smallville and Heroes. The audience might be confused at first but then the truth becomes more evident. I remember when I was watching Heroes, the girl kept trying to hurt her self, because she was so shocked at her ability to heal. Although your character may not exactly be a superhero, sometimes the M.C. discovers his or her true identity at the same time the audience does. I think that makes it more interesting. Good luck :)
  








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