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 stuck in the tree when the character was six doesn’t affect what’s going to happen next, readers couldn’t care less. And yet, in many stories, it’s vital readers be aware of the backstory
How to Share Fascinating Backstory: A Case Study
So how do you tell about the cat in the tree without boring readers into closing your book?
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (affiliate link)
We need look no farther than Alexandre Dumas’s fanatically beloved classic The Three Musketeers to find a masterful presentation of backstory.
Athos, the de facto leader the Three Musketeers, has a secret in his past. It’s a grim, astonishing, fascinating secret, and as such, we might have expected Dumas to have revealed it to readers right away.
The 2011 adaptation revealed the classic secret (SPOILER! that Athos and Milady were married) upfront, and robbed itself of much suspense as a result. (Matthew Macfadyen and Milla Jovovich in <i>The Three Musketeers</i> (2011), directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, produced by Summit Entertainment.)
Instead, Dumas holds his hand for almost half the book, so he can deliver Athos’s backstory at the most poignant moment possible. And when he does reveal the secret, he does so in a modicum of words that allows the story to proceed at full speed. He gives readers all they need to know in just a quick scene a dialogue.
How do you know when a backstory revelation is important to your story? It moves the plot. If it doesn’t move the plot, it doesn’t deserve to be included. (Matthew Macfadyen and Luke Evans in <i>The Three Musketeers</i> (2011), directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, produced by Summit Entertainment.)
2 Steps to Perfectly Placed Backstory
Dumas’s mastery of backstory teaches us several lessons.
1. Hint early on your character has a backstory, but wait to reveal it until the last possible moment, right before the information becomes crucial.
2. Instead of indulging in lengthy flashback scenes that stall your momentum, present the backstory in a powerful punch with as few words as possible.
If you do, readers will find your backstory as fascinating as you do!
