A common mistake that plagues many first-time authors is the overuse of backstory. When backstory is not used effectively, it can detract from the main story.
In this episode, I’ll give you 3 new ways to think about backstory so that it doesn’t dominate your story, but enhances it.
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Episode at a glance:
[02:14] What is backstory?
Backstory is any narrative that happened in the story’s past. It fills in perceived gaps in the story that the writer believes is necessary for the reader to understand what’s happening in the story’s present.
[02:56] Common Ways Writers Get Backstory Wrong
Writers often dump a lot of extraneous information that halts the story’s pace and momentum. Backstory often tells at the expense of showing, and gives too much away too soon, deflating the tension that comes from the past being revealed slowly, in deepening disclosure.
[08:12] Significant History
Backstory can give relevant background about a character so we understand them in the present. But a better and more useful way to think about backstory, and what could help you decide what to include, is significant history. It’s significant because it gives us insight into how the character entered the story wanting what he or she wants, and the internal conflict the character is struggling with.
[13:30] Significant History Is A Now Construct
If the past still impacts in the present, it’s significant. If it’s just backfill, you can probably cut most, if not all of it.
[17:04] The Past Doesn’t Always Motivate Us in the Present
Often, writers think that by writing excessive backstory, they’re revealing and fleshing out their characters. More often than not, though, backstory dilutes the story and creates relatively shallow characters. But characters are motivated more by their hopes and expectations for the future than by what happened in the past.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Cathedral: Stories by Raymond Carver
Best New American Voices 2005: Garden City by Frances Hwang
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
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