Whether you’re writing fiction or memoir, knowing how to include essential information that brings readers up to speed on your story’s present…is tricky. We often think that the story only makes sense if we load in all that essential backstory.

Too much of it, and your reader loses track, forgets, or even stops caring about what’s happening in the present of your story.

And this, my friend, is when they stop reading.

On today’s episode of Writer Unleashed, I’ll talk about the 3 most common mistakes writers make with backstory, and 3 tips to use backstory intentionally and strategically.

Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

On today’s episode of Writer Unleashed, we’ll explore:

  • What backstory is and why it’s useful
  • 3 common mistakes new writers make with backstory
  • Why less backstory is always more
  • How to strategically weave backstory into your story’s present
  • How to use backstory to reveal and foreshadow

Worthy Read

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

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