Weekend Writing: Drafting Your Character's Backstory
I have expressed many times on the blog that there is more involved in fiction writing than many people think. People think writers just come up with an idea for a story and write it. No, no, no...There is a lot more work involved. After all, writing is a job. It takes hard work to write a compelling story.
One of the hardest parts of writing a short story or novel is crafting your characters. Readers connect with characters. They need to be able to relate to them, root for them, and be fully invested in their stories. If readers don't like the protagonist, the author failed in crafting a strong character.
Part of crafting characters involves exploring their history--exploring their backstories and diving headfirst into the past. Readers understand more about these characters when they learn more about who they were in the past. What led to their present actions?
Just like your past experiences have shaped you into the person you are today, your character's backstory provides more depth and understanding to their overall characterization. It also lends more context to the conflicts taking place in the present story. Without this backstory, your character's actions and behaviors have very little foundation.
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| (photo/Lisa Hall-Wilson) |
But how do you craft a compelling character story? It's far from simple. What should you consider as you draft your story? How do you write the backstory without changing the pacing of the story? While you're drafting, answer the following questions about your characters:
- What circumstances/events defined their upbringing?
- How were they raised to act and believe? Did they accept these beliefs, or did they rebel?
- What's their relationship with their parents and/or other family members?
- What are their happiest memories? What are their saddest memories?
- What memory do they most regret? What memory would they like to repeat?
- What was the most important lesson they have learned?
- How have these past events impacted the person they are today?
It can be difficult to reveal a character's backstory. If you share too much, it could break up the pacing of a scene. So, how can you incorporate a character's backstory? Below are some additional tips.
Make sure the backstory has a purpose.
As you draft your story, make sure your characters' backstories have a purpose. You might think some background information is important, but does it further the story? Does it serve a purpose to the current events of the story? If not, consider cutting it from the story. Unless it's important to how your characters behave in the present, it's not necessary for the plot.
Keep it brief.
Keep the backstory as short as possible. You don't need chapters and chapters of flashbacks and descriptions of your characters' histories. Instead, keep it short, sweet and to the point. You only need to share the information that is vital to the story's plot. Don't dump the information onto your readers. This disrupts the story's pacing, and your readers might lose interest in the story.
Explain the backstory through dialogue.
When characters interact with one another, they might share information about their past. Dialogue is a great way to weave a character's backstory into the plot. The dialogue should feel natural and remain true to your character's voice. Here's an example:
Keith shivered as he sipped the warm cup of coffee. "How'd you learn to make coffee like this? From your mama, I assume."
"My dad, actually," she replied with a smirk. Keith raised an eyebrow. "My mom wasn't around much when I was growing up. She always had somewhere to be. A job to go to, people to visit, responsibilities that were more important. Dad basically had to raise me alone. Mom didn't even realize what she was missing at home until I was 18 and it was too late."
Stagger your character's backstory throughout the novel.
You don't need to reveal your characters' backstories all at once. Readers don't need to know everything by the end of the first chapter of a novel or the first scene of a short story. Doing so would bog down the story with info-dumps, brief explanations, and poor story pacing. Instead, reveal the backstory throughout the novel. This will feel more natural.
Use your character's POV to your advantage.
Inner dialogue can become very important as you reveal your character's backstory. Think about your character's point-of-view (POV) and their intimate thoughts. This internal dialogue is effective to share memories only your character would know about. In addition, this character would be sharing the memory with only the readers--not with anyone else. This allows readers to be "in on the secret." Here's an example:
Pouring another cup of coffee, I stare at the picture frame hanging on the wall above the coat rack. It's the one picture we have in the house where Dad, Mom, and I are smiling at the camera. It's Christmas morning and Dad's arm is around Mom's waist. She's holding me against her chest. I'm probably five or six, and Mom looks proud. Proud to be a wife and mom. Proud to be home with us. It was the last good Christmas--before Mom landed her dream job and decided she had someplace else she had to be.
I sip on the coffee cup, but the coffee had turned cold. Just like the photo.
Use flashbacks.
Flashbacks are the most common way to present a character's backstory. Traditionally, a flashback is any scene that breaks from the plot's chronological timeline to relay a past event. Readers are transported into the past, along with the characters, to learn more about what happened to the characters before the story started. Make sure the flashback scene isn't too long, or else it can disrupt the story's natural pacing. Craft the flashback with care. Here's an example:
The kitchen used to be different. It was filled with love and laughter--fresh bread baking in the oven and soup cooking on the stovetop. Mom was there and I begged her to let me cook with her.
"But Mommy, please!" I pleaded with her, tugging on her apron as she chopped carrots for the soup. "I'm a big girl now. I can help!"
"No, no, no. This soup is very hot, Amy. You'll burn yourself," she said, readjusting the apron I had loosened around her waist.
"I won't, Mommy! I promise!" I shouted, enthusiasm spilling into impatience. I wanted to be like my mommy. I wanted to cook like her and be a "big girl."
Mom laughed and dropped the carrots into the steaming pot of soup. She turned to me and kneeled down to my eye level.
"Not today, okay? But I promise, tomorrow, we'll bake cookies together and you can help me as much as you want. Deal?"
"Deal!"
The telephone rang and Mom straightened her posture. She walked to the telephone hanging on the wall next to the kitchen counter. She answered it, thinking it was nobody important.
"Yes, this is Margie Price," she said. She listened and I inched closer to her. "I got the travel writing job? Thank you, sir. Thank you so much!" She listened again, her eyes shimmering with excitement. "Yes, I'll see you first thing tomorrow. Good-bye."
She hung up the telephone and spun me around in circles, shouting with glee. I joined her, not knowing what was going on. But I didn't know then that Mom was about to break her first promise to me. We didn't bake cookies the next day.
---
It's important to craft compelling backstories for your characters. Keep in mind that you only need to provide backstories to your main characters. If you have friends of the characters who are mentioned periodically throughout the novel or story, you don't need to focus a lot on them. Focus on the main characters--the characters your readers will care about and want to know more about.
Backstories help bring your characters to life. Consider the biggest memories or events in their lives, and present these to your readers. It will help them understand your characters. As you'll see, it will make your story much stronger. Good luck!
Write on.
-KJL-
Make sure the backstory has a purpose.
As you draft your story, make sure your characters' backstories have a purpose. You might think some background information is important, but does it further the story? Does it serve a purpose to the current events of the story? If not, consider cutting it from the story. Unless it's important to how your characters behave in the present, it's not necessary for the plot.
Keep it brief.
Keep the backstory as short as possible. You don't need chapters and chapters of flashbacks and descriptions of your characters' histories. Instead, keep it short, sweet and to the point. You only need to share the information that is vital to the story's plot. Don't dump the information onto your readers. This disrupts the story's pacing, and your readers might lose interest in the story.
Explain the backstory through dialogue.
When characters interact with one another, they might share information about their past. Dialogue is a great way to weave a character's backstory into the plot. The dialogue should feel natural and remain true to your character's voice. Here's an example:
Keith shivered as he sipped the warm cup of coffee. "How'd you learn to make coffee like this? From your mama, I assume."
"My dad, actually," she replied with a smirk. Keith raised an eyebrow. "My mom wasn't around much when I was growing up. She always had somewhere to be. A job to go to, people to visit, responsibilities that were more important. Dad basically had to raise me alone. Mom didn't even realize what she was missing at home until I was 18 and it was too late."
Stagger your character's backstory throughout the novel.
You don't need to reveal your characters' backstories all at once. Readers don't need to know everything by the end of the first chapter of a novel or the first scene of a short story. Doing so would bog down the story with info-dumps, brief explanations, and poor story pacing. Instead, reveal the backstory throughout the novel. This will feel more natural.
Use your character's POV to your advantage.
Inner dialogue can become very important as you reveal your character's backstory. Think about your character's point-of-view (POV) and their intimate thoughts. This internal dialogue is effective to share memories only your character would know about. In addition, this character would be sharing the memory with only the readers--not with anyone else. This allows readers to be "in on the secret." Here's an example:
Pouring another cup of coffee, I stare at the picture frame hanging on the wall above the coat rack. It's the one picture we have in the house where Dad, Mom, and I are smiling at the camera. It's Christmas morning and Dad's arm is around Mom's waist. She's holding me against her chest. I'm probably five or six, and Mom looks proud. Proud to be a wife and mom. Proud to be home with us. It was the last good Christmas--before Mom landed her dream job and decided she had someplace else she had to be.
I sip on the coffee cup, but the coffee had turned cold. Just like the photo.
Use flashbacks.
Flashbacks are the most common way to present a character's backstory. Traditionally, a flashback is any scene that breaks from the plot's chronological timeline to relay a past event. Readers are transported into the past, along with the characters, to learn more about what happened to the characters before the story started. Make sure the flashback scene isn't too long, or else it can disrupt the story's natural pacing. Craft the flashback with care. Here's an example:
The kitchen used to be different. It was filled with love and laughter--fresh bread baking in the oven and soup cooking on the stovetop. Mom was there and I begged her to let me cook with her.
"But Mommy, please!" I pleaded with her, tugging on her apron as she chopped carrots for the soup. "I'm a big girl now. I can help!"
"No, no, no. This soup is very hot, Amy. You'll burn yourself," she said, readjusting the apron I had loosened around her waist.
"I won't, Mommy! I promise!" I shouted, enthusiasm spilling into impatience. I wanted to be like my mommy. I wanted to cook like her and be a "big girl."
Mom laughed and dropped the carrots into the steaming pot of soup. She turned to me and kneeled down to my eye level.
"Not today, okay? But I promise, tomorrow, we'll bake cookies together and you can help me as much as you want. Deal?"
"Deal!"
The telephone rang and Mom straightened her posture. She walked to the telephone hanging on the wall next to the kitchen counter. She answered it, thinking it was nobody important.
"Yes, this is Margie Price," she said. She listened and I inched closer to her. "I got the travel writing job? Thank you, sir. Thank you so much!" She listened again, her eyes shimmering with excitement. "Yes, I'll see you first thing tomorrow. Good-bye."
She hung up the telephone and spun me around in circles, shouting with glee. I joined her, not knowing what was going on. But I didn't know then that Mom was about to break her first promise to me. We didn't bake cookies the next day.
---
It's important to craft compelling backstories for your characters. Keep in mind that you only need to provide backstories to your main characters. If you have friends of the characters who are mentioned periodically throughout the novel or story, you don't need to focus a lot on them. Focus on the main characters--the characters your readers will care about and want to know more about.
Backstories help bring your characters to life. Consider the biggest memories or events in their lives, and present these to your readers. It will help them understand your characters. As you'll see, it will make your story much stronger. Good luck!
Write on.
-KJL-
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