Saturday, March 17, 2012

That Baffling Back-Story!


That Baffling Back-Story!



Are you guilty of back-Story Dump? One of the first writing lessons I learned from my writer’s group was about back-story. Yes, I was guilty. At the time I’d never heard the term back-story, much less the dump.
As a writer, I’ve had to learn to deal with it. In the process of writing my second novel, I added practically none, and I’m filling it in as I edit.
As a reader, I often skim over it, figuring if it’s vital to the story, I’ll find out about its relevance anyway. I don’t want to know all about the protagonist’s family history, how the parents met, what childhood was like or how he/she met their spouse or lover. Not in the opening chapters and maybe never.
The danger of back-story is that not done properly, it can bore your readers, even lose them. For mystery/suspense/thriller writers, too much in the opening chapters may destroy the suspense you’re trying to build. And if your books are listed on Amazon, where readers are free to (and usually do) read the opening chapters, overdone back-story can sway a decision to leave your book on the virtual shelf.
We need to be artful and subtle in delivering back-story as part of the narrative flow, rather than spelling it out.

Rules of back-story:

1.  Keep it short. Include it only if you're absolutely certain the reader would be completely lost without the information.
2. Add the information in bits and pieces, not all at once in one scene or even one chapter.
3. Tie the information to some type of action.
4. Create situations where another character needs to know the information.
5. Make sure it's realistic. Don't have someone talk about something they wouldn't normally talk about or spill their darkest secrets to a stranger just to get it out there.

After adding any back-story, ask yourself:
1. Is it absolutely relevant?

2. Is it short?

3. Is it inserted all at once?

4. Is it tied to some type of action?


Dear readers,
            I’m sharing this with you because it is another of those lessons I had to learn the hard way. Having been a reader forever, I should have known better. I’m utterly ruthless when I read and have no qualms about paging over endless backstory. I’ve set aside books that insisted on telling me the protagonist’s life story in the beginning chapters. Certainly not all readers are that brutal, but there are enough of us to make learning how to put back-story in artfully, a necessary skill. This short blog merely touches the surface of its use. There is a wealth of information available on the use of back-story. Take advantage of it.
            I’m still working on it.
Thanks for visiting,
 Marla


10 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Thanks for this, Marla. I had a suggestion to write a prologue to my book, and after reading this, I realize that would be all wrong. I need to weave the back story in with the action and in bits and pieces as you say. All best.

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    1. Well worth spending time on! If you have any doubt how important this is, read opening chapters when you're book shopping on AZ. Pay attention to the ones you pass up! And why. Chances are they are bogging you down in backstory.
      Writer's Digest magazine, had a great article on use of backstory, May/June 2011. You might find it on their website.
      Thanks for visiting and happy writing,
      Marla

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  3. As a creative writing student, I learned to never do this. As a creative writing professor, I teach never to do this. As a creative writer, I never do this. Then the Hunger Games comes along, and the first third of the book IS this sort of writing.

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    1. Your comment gave me a chuckle, anonymous! Love it. Haven't read the Hunger Games but so many authors manage to get away with it. I suppose if done as a narrative and it was engrossing, it might work. As a reader though, I mostly flip over it and only tolerate a lot of it if I really like the author. But then, I'm a suspense reader, rarely read literary unless it is combined with an excellent suspense story, e.g., Tana French.
      Thanks for visiting and commenting,
      Marla

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  4. Writer Dave here.Thank you for this short article
    It is one area in writing fiction to really pay attention to.
    I'm in the process of editing and proofreading my first novel,
    and I have edited out some back story that I felt wasn't necessary to the story.
    You can easily get into a habit of writing too much back story.

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    1. Hi Dave,
      Thanks for visiting my blog! Managing backstory is an ongoing challenge for us writers. Hard to find the right balance sometimes.
      Marla

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  5. I have learned back story is just that. Bits and pieces are good. Sometimes you want to dump just to get it over with...lol! Great advice as always! Luv ya!

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  6. I have learned back story is just that. Bits and pieces are good. Sometimes you want to dump just to get it over with...lol! Great advice as always! Luv ya!

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    1. Thanks Amy! It's always hard to resist giving your reader too much too soon. I need to pay more attention to what I hate when I read other authors' books. I'm a ruthless "skip over" reader and sometimes even the best writers are guilty of it.
      Great to hear from you!Have a nice weekend,
      Marla

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