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TECH: The Basics of Backstory
Jul. 25th, 2010 10:28 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
mbarker.livejournal.comOriginal Posting 20 May 2010
A.k.a. where to put the background
Writer's Digest, February 2007, pages 91 and 92 have an article by James Scott Bell with the title, "The Basics of Backstory." The sidebar is by Nancy Kress and provides a worksheet to help you build the backstory. Let's take a look at what they have to say.
James Scott Bell starts out with the story of a screenwriter pitching his action opening to a producer. "The young scribe goes on and on about the chase, the shots, and the car going over a cliff and exploding at the bottom of the gorge. The producer sits back, puffs on his cigar in a bored manner and says, 'But who's in the car?' ... This opening had too much plot and not enough story -- backstory."
So what is backstory? It's the stuff, the events that take place before the main narrative, the current story. And it needs to be carefully considered -- too much of it can bog down the story, but too little makes it hard to understand who the people are and why they are in the middle of all this. You need to balance between starting with action and providing essential backstory.
Too much background. Many pieces in the slush have a little bit of action, followed by page after page of backstory, whether it's in infodumps or flashbacks or reflections by the main character. And sometime after that the story returns, but most of the readers have left. All that backstory killed the main story instead of building interest.
James Scott Bell recommends opening chapters by leading off with characters in motion. People involved in the present. You need some interesting, troubling circumstances and readers will follow right along, waiting for fuller explanations. Along the way, you can drop in some backstory elements. Small bits and pieces, not whole pages!
You can do a bit of deeper backstory. Start with a character in action, then give us a more extensive piece of backstory. Make sure it's essential, and that it makes us as a reader more involved with the character and the action. Keep it focused and sharp.
The key here is balance. The reader wants to know what's going on, but they don't want to be buried in history.
OK? The worksheet by Nancy Kress, looks at what happened before the story opened. Here are the questions:
So write!
A.k.a. where to put the background
Writer's Digest, February 2007, pages 91 and 92 have an article by James Scott Bell with the title, "The Basics of Backstory." The sidebar is by Nancy Kress and provides a worksheet to help you build the backstory. Let's take a look at what they have to say.
James Scott Bell starts out with the story of a screenwriter pitching his action opening to a producer. "The young scribe goes on and on about the chase, the shots, and the car going over a cliff and exploding at the bottom of the gorge. The producer sits back, puffs on his cigar in a bored manner and says, 'But who's in the car?' ... This opening had too much plot and not enough story -- backstory."
So what is backstory? It's the stuff, the events that take place before the main narrative, the current story. And it needs to be carefully considered -- too much of it can bog down the story, but too little makes it hard to understand who the people are and why they are in the middle of all this. You need to balance between starting with action and providing essential backstory.
Too much background. Many pieces in the slush have a little bit of action, followed by page after page of backstory, whether it's in infodumps or flashbacks or reflections by the main character. And sometime after that the story returns, but most of the readers have left. All that backstory killed the main story instead of building interest.
James Scott Bell recommends opening chapters by leading off with characters in motion. People involved in the present. You need some interesting, troubling circumstances and readers will follow right along, waiting for fuller explanations. Along the way, you can drop in some backstory elements. Small bits and pieces, not whole pages!
You can do a bit of deeper backstory. Start with a character in action, then give us a more extensive piece of backstory. Make sure it's essential, and that it makes us as a reader more involved with the character and the action. Keep it focused and sharp.
The key here is balance. The reader wants to know what's going on, but they don't want to be buried in history.
OK? The worksheet by Nancy Kress, looks at what happened before the story opened. Here are the questions:
1. What's the conflict in my story?It seems simple, but taking a few minutes to think about what happened before the story began and how the protagonist and the reader are going to find out about it can help smooth out the story. You need to weave the backstory into your story, to give it depth and motivation and drive. At the same time, you want to make it invisible, not huge chunks of backstory that crop out and block the reader.
2. When did it start, and with whom?
3. Will my story consider one of these forces to be innocent victims and one morally guilty?
4. What major events occur in this conflict before it begins to affect my protagonist?
5. Who are the major players in this backstory, and what's the motivation of each?
6. When will my protagonist first become aware of this problem or conflict?
7. When will he first began to suffer from it personally?
8. How will my protagonist become aware of it? If the answer is, "Someone tells him," can I think of a more dynamic way to show my protagonist being affected?
9. When will the reader become aware of the conflict or problem?
So write!
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