Enter the Novice

Have you heard the term As You Know Bob?

It's a lazy way that writers get around explaining things the reader should already know because perhaps it happened in last week's episode or in the last book. Or maybe it's things the characters know but the reader, having just met them on the page, wouldn't know. So a lot of the times, the dialogue will start with As You Know… Fill in Name, like Bob.

Let's not do this. A better way to do an infodump of backstory is to use a Novice. The Novice enters the story when we do. They're also brand new to this world, but they're in the story so they can ask the questions we're dying to know.

In Shonda Rhimes' Scandal pilot episode, she uses the Novice to full effect. We're going to visit Shondaland a lot here on The Breakdown. So gladiators, suit up.

In the pilot episode of the political thriller show, Rhimes had to figure out how outline the procedure of what her heroine, a fixer, does. 

In a medical drama, patient comes in with undiagnosed illness. Doctors run tests. Get it wrong. Patient nearly flatlines and then, at the 11^th hour, someone figures it out and the patient lives. 

In law and order crime shows, we start with a crime. Police show up at the scene. They gather evidence and a suspect. Then deliver both to the lawyers who prosecute the case.

In mysteries, a detective or amateur sleuth gathers clues. They try to pin it on a suspect. Get it wrong a couple of times -often three times- before the big twist and reveal of the true villain.

But a Fixer? How does that work? Enter the novice to the rescue.

Scandal doesn't open with our fearless heroine Olivia Pope. It opens with the new girl getting hired. Quinn struts onto the screen thinking she's on a blind date and learns that nope, the handsome guy she thought was a baby lawyer is actually a partner in the firm she would kill to work at. So what she thought was a blind date actually turns into a job interview where she gets the opportunity of a lifetime.

But again, how does this work? What is this job? What has she been hired to do?

We learn this in four ways. 

1. Quinn asks questions

2. She's shown the process

3. She tries to model the behavior

4. And, finally, makes mistakes and is set straight. 

QUINN MAKES A MISTAKE AND IS SET STRAIGHT

When we enter the offices of Pope and Associates, we see it's an entirely unconventional office with quirky colleagues. The first thing that happens is Quinn makes a mistake. She goes on about how she admires Olivia and her work in the White House and that it's an honor to work for Olivia's law firm. Olivia ignores the White House praise and corrects Quinn that this isn't a law firm. We're getting backstory that's casually mentioned and not info dumped.

QUINN STARTS ASKING QUESTIONS

When the client of the week walks into the loft with literal blood on his hands, Quinn asks What do we do? This gives Olivia a chance to answer. Olivia says that the first thing they do is interview the client. It's Olivia's gut that tells her everything she needs to know. Then Olivia sets the rules. The main rule; do not lie to her.

SHOW QUINN PROCEDURES

The cast of Pope and Associates have to show Quinn the ropes, and we get to watch as they begin their investigation of this week's case. We see them interview their client. We watch as they investigate for clues. We lean in as they put pictures on the wall of evidence. Quinn stands in the shadows taking it all in.

QUINN TRIES TO MODEL BEHAVIOR

Quinn's first attempt at modeling behavior happens when she finds a lead on the case. But she doesn't have all the answers and gets admonished for her incomplete delivery of information. 

The second chance she gets, she's determined to do a great job. And

she does. She follows the lessons she's learned from asking questions and watching and gets praise. But then she sees the ugly side of Pope and Associates when her information is used to destroy the woman accused of sleeping with the President.

All of this is done without a single info dump or As You Know Bob. So the next time you have a lot to explain at the beginning of a story, consider using a novice to ask questions, watch a procedure play out, model the behavior they see from the other characters, and make mistakes that need to be corrected.

Want a more in depth exploration of pacing, try out my course Page Turner Pacing: how to write a bingeworthy novel in 21 days at ineswrites.com/PTP for Page Turner Pacing.