How is an author to know the perfect place to insert backstory? Sooner or later, most authors feel constrained by the technique of opening a story in medias res, when we know readers won’t fully comprehend events unless we’ve first given them an understanding of the important backstory that preceded the opening. But by the […]
October 13, 2010 by 21 Comments BackstoryIs Backstory Sinking Your Book?
Backstory is often misunderstood, mostly because it has gained something of a bad reputation through misuse. It’s important you neither underestimate this crucial storytelling technique, nor allow it to overwhelm your main story. Backstory, as its name implies, is intended to stay in back of the main story. It’s never the point of the story, […]
April 14, 2010 by 21 Comments BackstoryBoring! How to Diagnose Your Bad Backstory
Backstory is the history of your character—the part of the story that happens before the story. As writers, it’s often tempting to think readers are every bit as fascinated with our characters backstories as we are. But don’t be fooled. Readers are only interested in what’s going to happen next. If your character’s favorite cat getting […]
