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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.
One way to improve your backstory is to use setting to help bring the character to life. First, let’s review for a moment what elements usually make up setting: Location: This could be broad, like a region or city, or specific, such as a house or a room. Time: This could be the time period, like in historical fiction, time of day, time of the ...
- When Backstory Works
- When Backstory Fails
- Balancing Backstory
I often joke that skillful writing techniques are a little bit like Supreme Justice Potter Stewart’s infamous 1964 opinion of pornography:You may not be able to define it, but you know it when you see it. But well-used backstory is often invisible, woven so seamlessly into the tapestry of the story that you don’t notice the individual threads. It c...
Walking the tightrope of balancing backstory is often unfortunately often weighted to one side—backstory traps are legion and easy to stumble into: 1. Frontloaded backstory:This is among the most common missteps I see with backstory—authors worry that readers won’t understand or invest in their characters and story without “bringing them up to spee...
I always suggest a few basic guidelines to make sure that the backstory you’re introducing feels organic and seamless to the story: 1. The Watergate question: This is my paraphrased version of the famed standard of guilt in the Nixon hearings:What do readers need to know and when do they need to know it? Successfully incorporating backstory means u...
Jan 13, 2020 · Have too much backstory and too many flashbacks, you might rob your readers of the urgency and tension of the current narrative. For the most part, I much prefer to look forward in a story than ...
- Brian Rowe
Jun 6, 2013 · A good storyteller has no trouble thinking up rich histories for his characters. But a good novelist holds these details back, revealing them only at the time that best serves the story. “Rushing the backstory is a terrible waste,” says Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain. “Many writers try to ...
1. Make sure that all of your character’s past details are consistent and believable. 2. Pay close attention to how your character has changed over time and their relationships with other characters. 3. Ensure that any events or experiences in your character’s past are relevant to the present-day plot of your story. 4.
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Jul 14, 2018 · All of a sudden, a meaningless, ordinary interaction with a stranger turned into a surprising event with your sister…and there is only one difference involved: backstory. You know your sister, better than you know yourself. You’ve grown up together, shared a room for all of your childhood. You know that she is terrified of spiders and ...
