I don’t want to rehash too much of what we discussed last time (can you believe it’s only been three months since we discussed this last?)—I want to move into new territory. But first, I guess, we have to go through the backstory on the backstory: review what we’ve already covered so I can see where to go next.
The last series covered several topics:
- Where to start and Jump into the action: starting stories and scenes with action instead of backstory.
- Winning Back Story: Not an Oxymoron (Guest post from Margie Lawson): slipping in backstory a “shard” at a time, and only what’s necessary
- Backstory: how much is too much? (Whatever stops the story)
- Handling Backstory through narration, Backstory through dialogue, and Backstory through setting and props
- Using Backstory and characterization (and what NOT to do!), and instead using Backstory to set up character motivation directly
- And finally, the subject that inspired this revisit, Backstory done right—backstory revelation as a driving force in the plot.
So we looked at determining what was backstory and what was story-story, as well as several methods of inserting backstory. As I said before, it’s that last subject that prompted this revisit. More and more I’m noticing stories that rely heavily on their backstory, whether to propel the current action of the story or to add the suspense necessary to propel the readers through the story. In less experienced hands, those same backstory-heavy books might drag, as hopelessly trapped in the past as their characters. But plenty of excellent authors are able to pull it off in style.
There are definitely good uses for backstory—and well-written, interesting stories can even revolve around backstory. So how can we make sure our backstory is the “right” kind and the “right” delivery?
Photo by Colleen Lane
