What exactly is
backstory? How does the dictionary define it?
A narrative
providing a history or background context, especially for a character or
situation in a literary work, film, or dramatic series.
The experiences of a
character or the circumstances of an event that occur before the action or
narrative.
As an author it is
something I'm very aware of. My first novel, Resolutions, had an event, which had happened prior to the story
started, and was the reason there was a story at all.
However, I didn't
just jump in and tell the reader what had happened twelve months before. This
came out slowly, in the early chapters, and mainly through the dialogue of some
characters e.g.
Mrs. Williams’
eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "Well, well, so you’ve finally
returned. I never thought you'd dare to show your face again here, especially
at this time of year.”
Hopefully at this
point the reader will want to continue reading, wondering 'What has Carly
done?'
If I'd let 'the cat
out of the bag' at this point, there would be little point in reading on! Also
if all the backstory is given early on, as an 'info dump', this can be boring
and tedious to read.
In the next chapter
we have a clue as to what has happened from another character, whom Carly
visits:
“Don’t expect too much from him. Seeing you
will come as quite a shock. He’s spent the last twelve months working hard to
put you out of his mind and out of his life. He may not want you back. I don’t
think you’ll find that Yeardon and New Yeardon are the same places you used to
know.”
Have I got you
intrigued? I hope so! Would you like to know what Carly has done that has
caused so much anguish? Let Steve, her ex- fiancé, tell you:
“New Year’s Eve would have been our first
wedding anniversary. It seemed a good time to try to say sorry.” She moved
towards him. “I’m really sorry for what I did.”
Steve’s arms widened to grip the sides of the
car as he stared down at the engine. “Sorry? Sorry for leaving me standing at
the altar like an idiot? Sorry for disappearing without a word? What exactly
are you sorry for?”
It's far better to
keep the reader guessing and wanting to learn more.
Later on we learn
that the hero, Ben, also has a secret in his past. However if you want to know
what that is, you'll have to read the book!
Some good examples there of how to tease the reader by introducing the back story bit by bit.
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I think the temptation is to add too much back story, and too do it too soon. Just like when we meet real people we don't learn everything about them immediately – some things take years to discover and some things are never revealed.
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