Backstory is one of those things that can trip up even the best writer because they’re so sure the reader will get confused if they don’t know the Characters’ entire life stories. But my reader needs to know this, so they understand the Character. Nope. They don’t. They need to be intrigued by your Character. If they are intrigued, they will want to read more, and they will hold on for the ride so they can uncover the pieces of your Character’s past that have gone into making them so interesting. For a year or so, I did online dating (and yes, it was as awful as people say but I also met my Mr. Wonderful there, so it’s not all bad). The profiles that got me to click like are the ones with just enough information to make me want to know more. The ones that have no information or worse, just say hook-up now, are the ones I don’t even bother with. I need to know something—but not everything, if that makes sense. On the flip side, some guy I don’t know who spends the first thirty minutes of a phone conversation talking about himself is definitely not going to be someone I date. Look at your Characters like people your reader is just meeting—no one wants that boring neighbor who drones on and on or the reclusive grump who never says a word. You need to find a good middle ground. When you have a lot of Backstory, you weigh down your story with long paragraphs of introspection. Have you ever sat at a table and watched someone think? It has to be the most boring thing in the world—like watching paint dry on someone’s face. That is exactly what happens with a ton of Backstory. The reader wants things to happen. The reader wants to feel compelled to turn the pages. And most of all, the reader really enjoys uncovering that mystery of what makes the Character tick. My three-part litmus test for Backstory is simple: Is it impactful? In other words, does this passage impact the plot? Is it believable? Meaning, would this Character actually think about this moment in their past? And third, is it relevant? Which means, is it coming into the story at the right time, the right place, and with the right trigger? If you remember nothing else about Backstory, remember this: that memory the Character has must be triggered by an event in the plot.
Read more in Writing Compelling Fiction by Shirley Jump.
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TJ Klune's SOMEWHERE BEYOND THE SEA, to BookChef (
