Backstory. One of the hardest parts of writing a character. Backstory by definition is taking our story backwards. Coming up with it may be easy enough, but somehow incorporating it into the story? That's no easy challenge.

Like I said in the previous chapter, I'll use my own work for this example to avoid hurting feelings: Oliver's backstory.

Yikes.

I mean, sure, the backstory was good (/tragic) enough - I'm quite proud of it, actually. A lot of Wikipedia searches went into that. It's probably the only time in my life I'll google the entire history of Mexico's slave trade.

Aaaaaaand I totally ruined it. No, no, I butchered it. I let months of planning, and literally (what, 17 years?) of Oliver's life come out in two chapters. It was choppy, it was rough, it was what we in the writing world call an information dump.

Actually, now that I think about it, Fleeing The Past did it much better. Little snippets and flashbacks that kind of tied in with the whole story, as compared to just dumping it all out there.

But anyway, to be honest, I've never written backstory well enough to be very good at it! So I'm going to go read up on it for the next hour or so. I'll be right back!

Ah, okay. It's been almost an hour and a half and I'm teeming with tips! So without further ado:

How to Write Good Backstory - And Avoid Information Dumps.

Alright folks. For the next few thousand words, I'm going to be informing you on how to write backstory, when to write backstory, what to make your backstory about and why you should or shouldn't. This chapter might be long so feel free to read the bold headings to find exactly what you're looking for. Let's start with the why:

1. Why You Should Write Backstory. And Why You Shouldn't.

Backstory is incredibly useful. As well as having a chance to create a whole new story for your character, which can be as sweet or tormenting as you like, it does wonders for plot and character development. It creates an element of realism and depth to your story -- this character wasn't just randomly created on the first page! They've been alive far, far longer than that. It gives readers a reason to remember your character, a way to think about them, or feel about them. It gives readers a whole new dimension to the story they never had - it explains everything about the character's personality. It's world-building. Actually - tying it into the last chapter, it can even be used to slow down your plot when necessary.

However, backstory can be dangerous. Backstory done wrong can make readers lose track of the story. It can make them bored, frustrated - they may even fall out of flow of the story and not be able to pick it up again. Backstory can be the reason your story falls apart.

2. Why Your Beginning Should Never Explain The Scene.

When we develop our characters and we write the opening of our story, it's way too easy to put backstory in right at the very beginning.

For example, the scene opens as Robert gazes out over the horizon of the land he's just claimed. There are already so many questions. Who is this Robert? Has he claimed the land in the name of his country? Was it uninhabited, and Robert is a harmless explorer? Or did Robert ruthlessly slaughter the native people who lived there?

It's way too easy, as an author, to jump right in and start with the flashback of how it all began. I mean, obviously, right? How are the readers going to understand what's going on if they don't know that Robert is a member of the Fifth Copernicus Guild?!

I know that all sounds strange, but the point I'm getting at is don't put backstory right at the beginning of a book. We want to draw the reader into the Now. That's what they're here for, remember? They're here to listen to the story we're telling - about what's happening Now. Once they're happily comfortable with the story, and have decided that they want to learn more about why Now is happening, we can show them the Then. We want action first, to draw them in - to create a sense of mystery -then backstory.

3. The Art of Weaving: How to Avoid Information Dumps.

No, no, I don't mean weaving with a cloth. I mean weaving backstory into your novel. If you're like me, and your character's backstory is long, complex and yes, at times, heart-breakingly sad, then it's going to give you heaps of opportunities to weave backstory in.

Remember what I said about information dumps being really bad? (And how I brutally destroyed all of my chances with Oliver's perfectly crafted backstor-- okay, okay, I'll stop whining). Well, the best way to get rid of information dump problems is to weave bits and pieces through the story. We don't want to connect the dots for our readers: we want to draw the dots, and let them draw the lines. Your readers aren't idiots. They know how to put two and two together. It gives your readers a chance to theorise and predict, and especially on Wattpad where comments and discussions are encouraged, it's the perfect way to introduce backstory. Plus, nothing beats the satisfying feeling of finding a character's backstory and having that 'click' moment of all the dots connecting.

The best way to learn how to weave your backstory into your plot is to write the whole thing out. Go on, go for it! Write the whole thing, from the character's birth to where they are now. The more detail, the better, but dot point is fine if you're just doing a practice. Got it? Good.

Now you need to write out the character's personality. Just their personality, no appearance or anything. You want to write down all their little quirks, how they react to things, etc.

All you've got to do now is find (or create) correlations. Here, let me do it with Ollie just to use an example.

Oliver briefly worked as a prostitute, because he was desperate, with no home, no money, and the self-belief that he was worth nothing. As a result of this, he's very quick - almost too quick - to defend sex workers and homeless people. If a prostitute approaches Ollie, he'll give them money, and tell them not to give up. And if others say "Oh, gross. They have no dignity." He'll be very quick to snap that not all people have a choice.

See what I mean? Weaving.

When it comes out that Oliver did, in fact, work as a prostitute, it shouldn't leave the readers wondering, it should make them go, "Ohhhhhhhh! That's why!". I'm not saying that happened with Ollie, but that's what should have happened.

Little things like triggers, speech quirks, gestures, passionate opinions, likes, dislikes, the way the character acts around certain people or places - everything can be tied into your character's backstory, and subtly placed into the story. If you have paragraphs that are starting to look like too much information, cut one of the sentences out, and subtly hint at it later on.

4. When The Moment is Write.

There is a simple checklist to know exactly when the moment is right to write! You want to reveal your character's backstory...

- After the story is thoroughly introduced and in place. (Remember: Now and Then.)

- When there is a great need to learn more. (He just can't understand why he's so terrified of teacups. Everything's at a standstill. There have been plenty of hints - the dots have been drawn, you just need to give the reader the pencil that will allow them to draw the lines.)

- When the moment is appropriate. (His friend cuts his hand, and suddenly it hits him full force: his mother sliced her hand open on a broken tea cup, and it got infected and she died - that's why he's an orphan!)

5. Why You Need To Back Off, and Let Someone Else Write For You.

You've just finished your backstory and OH GOSH, it's AMAZING! You can't wait to tell the audience all about it. It turns out Johnathan's so distant from children because his sister died in childbirth! It's all there - everything. Every little detail has been planned, and meticulously organised, and you're ready to write an entire novel on his past.

Which is where you need to step back.

The truth is, you need to differentiate between what you want to tell the character, and what Johnathan wants to tell the character. Remember, writing isn't about the author telling a story. It's about the author's characters telling a story. We're just there to put the characters into place, and relay the story they tell onto paper. Which is why you might want the reader to know about Johnny's late sister, but Johnathan might just want to be focused on getting to know his girlfriend's children better. It's painful, and it's frustrating, but you might have to cut back on the essay - even if there's only a paragraph left when you're done. There will always be time later.

6. How to Make Sure Your Readers Aren't Falling Asleep.

Uh oh. You're not going to like to hear this, but you're going to need to cut back on that story, my friend. That's right, the editing is the moment you have to be the most brutally and painfully honest as you can be with yourself. You need to read and re-read the chapter, and make sure that it's not too verbose (just like this chapter is). You need to scrutinise every sentence of your backstory, and make sure it all has a purpose. Every sentence of it has to be relevant to the plot in some way or another. I'm sorry, but yes, that means cutting out all the juicy details that have no purpose.

If you can't follow it, neither can your readers! I know I couldn't follow all of Oliver's story, but I blamed it on being tired. Now I know - I'm almost certain - that my readers would have found it hard to concentrate on and possibly even frustrating. That doesn't mean you should get rid of it, though! Keep the bits you don't put in locked away in a file on your computer, and you may be able to return later and slip it in! :)

I know that we, as writers, have to know every second of our character's lives... but that doesn't mean the readers do. What you might find super interesting, may lull the readers into a sleepy stupor faster than a flock of sheep jumping over the fence.

FINALLY, We Get Onto The Good Stuff: How To Write Backstory.

Right. I know this chapter is long, but the past... 1815 words of this chapter are all extremely important, and contain invaluable tips. Now, though, I'm happy to announce that the ending is in sight, and I'm ready to tell you...

The Top 5 Ways To Introduce A Character's Life Story.

5. A Prologue.

That's right. Those introduction chapters in books you always used to skip as a kid because you thought they were boring. (Or was that just me?) Prologues are incredibly useful ways to shed a little bit of light on what's going on, before we even begin the story. Of course, you don't want to ruin any of the plot twists, but they can be rather useful to set the scene. The prologue in Set Backs, for example, explains why Mike is living with Vincent, and sets the time, place, and mood for the rest of the book. If you're going to use a prologue, first, you need a little checklist:

- Does it reveal vital plot information that the reader is going to need to know straight away?

- If you leave it out, is something important missing from the story?

- If the prologue ever became Chapter One, would the story flow properly?

If all the answers are 'yes', your prologue is good to go! If some or all of the answers are 'no', maybe this isn't the best technique for you.

4. Flashbacks.

Ah, yes. The most commonly used kind of plot-reveal. Flash backs. They sure can be useful, so here are some tips on how to write them better. They can be fragmented memories, little bits and pieces of hazy recollections, or they could be full scenes, drawn in detail. They need to have some kind of trigger - Mary isn't going to be sitting in class doodling in her math book when she suddenly has a flashback about a car crash; it's going to happen if Mary is watching out the window when one car swerves and narrowly misses another. Flash backs have to happen for a reason. You don't want to do it too often, either! This person isn't constantly in a dream state, you know. There are plenty of other, more interesting ways to reveal plot.

3. Part of The Quest.

A lot of stories (mystery, fantasy, sci-fi) have some kind of quest, or goal, that the main character is actively trying to achieve. A great way to introduce backstory is to have the reader learn it with the character, just like the Pensive in Harry Potter. You can do this through magic (character is sent into a hypnotic trance that allows them to remember something previously forgotten), or through scientific methods (character researches their own life story and finds something huge). In that way, both the reader and the character discover something new.

2. Discussion.

Yep, this one's kind of a given, too. It's the use of dialogue to give away the backstory of a character.

Personally, my favourite way to do this is when a character accidentally lets something slip, that the other character can then use to pry out the story. The thing with characters and tragic back stories is that they often need to tell people. Oh, facade aside, I can tell you from first-hand experience - the thing with people and screwed up backstories is that they NEED to tell people. I could write a whole chapter on how to write from a person with a secret, trust me. It's what I know best. But just know that sometimes, they get in moods where they suddenly get the urge to just let something slip. Just let a tiny little comment slide, and hope the other person picks up on it, even if they usually don't.

Another way is through triggers. Have a normal, harmless conversation and all of a sudden someone mentions something in particular and your character goes crazy. Whether with anger, anxiety, fear, sadness - triggers are a great way to pry out the story, too.

The discussion has to be realistic. There has to be a reason that this person is sharing their backstory. It needs to be short and sharp, with no paragraphs of dialogue each, and it needs to be authentic. For example, two childhood friends meeting up for coffee aren't going to suddenly rattle on about the history of the town they live in - they already know it. But a person meeting a tourist who's just flown in from Japan? That would be the perfect, normal reason to suddenly open up about the haunted house down the road.

Actually, that brings us on to my personal favourite way of revealing backstory.

1. Uninformed Characters.

I'll be short with this one. There isn't much to say. If your character, Ella, is a hardworking tomboyish woman who's been working on a steampunk mining ship halfway across the ocean, she isn't going to sit down at lunch and start telling her juggernaut-mechanic girlfriend how the mining operation began. They already know.

But when they rescue a freezing girl who's been surviving in an empty beer barrel from the ocean, suddenly she's going to wonder why a mining ship is out this far in the Atlantic ocean, and that's when Ella is able to reveal that due to global warming, there are no more continents left on the earth.

Activities:

1. Write a basic timeline for your character, so their backstory is visualised and you can start working out which places can go where in the book.

2. Find a paragraph of your story where the character is having a flashback or etc., and cut all the backstory out. Re-read it, and see if it's better, or worse.

3. The Q & A Test. Find the part of your story where the character is revealing their backstory, and for every line of information that they reveal, write down the question that it answers. ("Ileanna died in my place." - Answers the question, "Why does Oliver always talk about having a second chance?") Now take a look and see if any of your questions double up. If they do, cut out that line - you don't need it!

Useful Links:

Writer's Digest - How to Weave Backstory Seamlessly Into Your Novel.
(7/10 helpfulness)

Writer's Edit - The Complete Guide To Creating Backstory In Speculative Fiction.
(9/10 helpfulness)

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