Last week we discussed the basics of backstory: WHAT & WHY. If you didn’t have a chance to read about what exactly backstory is and why it’s important, it’s not too late to catch up. You can read Backstory Balancing Act: What & Why here. Today, I want to focus on HOW to write good backstory and WHEN exactly to use it.
HOW
Good backstory begins with the very first inkling of a story idea. As the concept for a brand-new character knocks on the door of your imagination, his backstory is already being written—whether you’re aware of it or not. The characteristics you chose to give him (from his appearance to the defining moment that made him the person he becomes on the page) are all pieces of the complex puzzle that will eventually comprise the foundation on which your story is built. Rushing this (decidedly unsexy) part of the process will undoubtedly lead to issues as you write. If you’ve ever felt stuck mid-draft, you may have been dealing with backstory problems.
So, how can we create compelling and comprehensive backstories? Here are just a few ideas to use as a launchpad.
Don’t rush the process. It’s so tempting to start writing the moment we have a brilliant idea (and I’m definitely pro-drafting when the mood strikes!), but taking time to focus on our protagonist and his or her origin story is going to pay in dividends when you find yourself knee-deep in your project. I tell people that it takes me three years to publish a book: one year to conceptualize it (this includes working on backstory!), one year to write it, and one year to publish it. (That sounds like a crazy-long process, but I’m usually doing all three steps at the same time with different books—conceptualizing one while I’m writing a second and publishing a third.) But whether your process is one month or one year, set aside time to focus on backstory. Your protagonist’s origin story is going to affect nearly every aspect of your book. Take your time to get it right.
Let go of the lie that if your work doesn’t make it onto the pages of your book, it’s wasted. Telling yourself the story is just as (if not more) important than telling it to your audience. If you don’t have the story straight in your own head (who and when and why and how) it will emerge as a jumbled mess on the pages of your book. Have you ever changed a character’s name partway through a first draft? Forgotten where they were born or how exactly their timeline fits together? Chances are you skimped on the backstory part. I know it feels counterproductive to write out a detailed character sketch, timeline, and personal history, but knowing that backstory in and out is going to make drafting the book easier. I promise.
Get to work. A good place to begin is with a comprehensive character sketch! There are lots of ways to do this, and you likely already have your own preferred methods. But when you’re contemplating your character’s appearance, age, gender, socioeconomic status, vocation, relationships, and education, don’t forget to include their background. Some questions to ask might include:
What sort of a relationship did she have with her parents?
What were his defining relationships as a child?
Describe his/her school experience.
What are some key life events that impacted my protagonist?
How did these events shape his/her understanding of the world?
What is a secret he has never told anyone?
What is a lie she believes about herself?
What is one of his greatest weaknesses and where did it originate?
What is one of her greatest fears?
Highlight at least one life-changing moment for your character.
But don’t get too bogged down. It would be easy to fall endlessly down the rabbit hole of writing your protagonist’s origin story. It can be fun and distracting, a good way to procrastinate—and, admittedly, much more productive than scrolling social media. But while backstory can be underdone, it can also be overdone. Do we really need to know Annie disliked her Great Aunt Bertha? Not unless that relationship is going to be pivotal in Annie’s understanding of the world and impact the way her story plays out in your book.
These are just some tips to get you started. But when will you know that your backstory work is done? I employ this trick that I heard years ago from friend and fellow author, Tosca Lee. I interview my character. When I know their answers to any and every question, when I can step so fully into their shoes that I can respond to queries from their worldview and perspective (not my own!), I know that their backstory is in good shape.
WHEN
So now you have a comprehensive backstory. When exactly do you use it in your manuscript? The answer is: a lot less than you’d like to. It can be so disheartening to do the hard work of creating a powerful, evocative origin story and then use it as seasoning instead of the main dish. But just as the right spices can really make a recipe special, your backstory work is going to make your story unforgettable.
Now that you’ve told yourself your protagonist’s story, it is going to impact every single scene you write with him in it. Because you know him so intimately, the pain of his childhood and the fear of rejection is going to color his every interaction. He’s not two-dimensional anymore, he’s as close to living and breathing as he can be. And you breathed that life into him.
Here are just a few things to keep in mind as you figure out when to employ backstory in your manuscript.
Less is usually more. Remember that your readers are invested in the present day story at hand. They were hooked by your inciting incident and have stuck around because they’re emotionally invested in the stakes, so don’t yank them out of the story with a boring info dump about your protagonist’s crappy middle school years. Nothing kills pace quite so quickly and efficiently as a long-winded flashback. You are (usually) much better off conveying this information in a single biting line or two. Alex hated bullies. He feared he still had scars from one of the atomic wedgies he was subjected to in sixth grade. Please don’t replay the entire horrifying wedgie scene. Your readers are smart and can fill in the gaps with small doses of the right information at the right time.
Use dialogue. A great way to layer in your character’s important backstory is to slip it into dialogue. Be careful as dialogue can also be used as an info dump, but as long as the conversation is authentic and relevant to whatever is currently happening in the scene, this can be a great place to share information about your protagonist.
“Calm down, Alex, he’s just a kid.” “He’s a punk.” She laughed a little and laid a hand on his arm. “I don’t think a ten-year-old can be a punk.” “He was thirteen at least,” Alex said, hating the way he could feel blood pumping hot and fast behind his eyes. He was getting a headache. “Boys who act like that turn into men who belong behind bars.” “Are you okay?” she asked, concern pooling in her eyes. But it was too late, Alex had already turned away.
Allow backstory to inform your character’s fears, desires, and motivations—and to gradually reveal truths about his/her life. Why is he acting this way? Backstory, of course! In this scene where Alex’s middle school bullying is impacting his grown-up life, readers need to know that there’s more to the story than meets the eye. If he responds to a kid doing something stupid with unmitigated fury, readers instinctively know that something is up (there’s more to the story!), and it’s your job to reward them with a clue about why he’s acting the way he is. These aha! moments should be doled out slowly and gradually, giving your reader more insight and information as the book goes on.
Let’s talk about flashbacks… Can they be done well? Yes, but use sparingly and avoid long-winded flashback scenes. A trigger should cue the flashback, and when it’s over you’ll need to ground your readers back in the present storyline.
Something about the way the kid looked over his shoulder and laughed made Alex see red. (Trigger) The scent of industrial cleaner and the particular funk of a middle school boys' locker room filled his nostrils, and his palms went slick with sweat. He could hear their laughter, feel their hands rucking up his sweatshirt as they pushed him into a corner. Alex gasped a shallow breath, reminding himself that those things happened twenty years ago. (Back to the present storyline.) It was all nothing but a bad memory now. But the dread lingered, and that bothered him more than he wanted to admit.
I hope this little two-part series on backstory has been helpful to you! It’s been a great reminder for me as I dig into my next project… I’m so gung-ho about this story I’ve made the mistake of glossing over that all-important backstory work myself—and it’s already causing me problems. Time to hit pause and really dig into Sadie’s backstory. Although it feels like a waste of my precious writing time now, I know I’ll thank myself over and over again later.
Happy writing, dear friends! How do you feel about backstory? Do you love the process or loathe it? xoxo - Nicole