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1 Things to Consider When Writing a Backstory. 2 The Do’s and Don’ts of Revealing a Character’s Backstory. 2.1 DO Write Everything Down About Your Character. 2.2 DON’T Share Everything With Your Readers. 2.3 DO Pinpoint the Defining Events that Impacted the Character. 2.4 DON’T Get Carried Away.
Feb 19, 2024 · There are several different techniques you can use to convey backstory. Last year, I did a three-part series about backstory techniques. 1. Sharing Backstory With the Backstory Drip. The main one is the one you’re going to want to use in pretty much any story, even if you do choose to use some of the other techniques.
1. Link to the past. First, get to the bottom of what kind of person your character is and why they would ever go on the adventure you've laid out for them. Then, once you have an image of that person in your head, ask yourself what events in their past made them become this kind of person. For example, think about Marlon from Finding Nemo.
- Tom Bromley
- Know who your character is in the present. The way your character behaves in the present moment says a lot about their backstory. Often, there is a reason why they act or react to situations the way they do, making a reader wonder about their past.
- Remember that people change. With a firm grip on who your characters are now, you can start to explore who they used to be. While there should be continuity between their past and current selves, having some differences can show they’ve evolved over time.
- Create a turning point. Sometimes, a character’s backstory includes a catalyst that completely alters the course of their life. This event can often provide the key to understanding their actions.
- Reveal information in a strategic way. Maintaining some mystery around your character and who they are can be a great way to build intrigue. Drip feeding them the backstory throughout the book — or even series of books — will keep your audience engaged and speculating about the possibilities.
Jun 6, 2024 · Bestselling author Victoria Helen Stone discusses the importance of digging into the past of your fictional characters to develop a strong backstory for your novel. Victoria Helen Stone. Jun 6, 2024. My relationship with backstory is a bit of a running joke with my developmental editor, Tiffany Yates Martin. She knows that a minor query about a ...
Apr 27, 2022 · I would generally avoid revealing a backstory too late. If you wait to reveal it until just before it is relevant, it looks like you just made it up on the spot to justify the next scene. Readers expect a character to be developed or revealed over time. And if you wait too long, you may have to provide other explanations for the character's ...
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Apr 24, 2022 · What is backstory? Backstory is everything that ever happened to a character before the opening page of their story. It's the character history that exists in your (the storyteller's) head. I know that sounds like a "duh, obviously" sort of statement. But what we need to pay attention to most is "before".
