Jen here:
I’m going to say something you probably haven’t heard in
writing classes before. Backstory is absolutely necessary to your book. But if
done badly, it can ruin your book and keep your readers from ever reading past
the first few pages.
What is backstory?
Backstory is everything that has happened to your characters
before they appear in your book. You need to know this for every POV character.
In particular, you need to know what their deepest wound is, how it happened,
what events have reinforced that worldview, and how they are functioning in the
world to protect that wound. You’ll also want to know what their happiest
moment has been, because there will be a drive for them to recreate that
moment, or a complete sense of hopelessness that it can never be recreated.
The tipping point
Up until your character appears on page, she has been living
her life protecting her wound in a certain way. But within a few pages of your
book opening, something happens that makes it impossible for her to continue
living life the way she has been. This is often known as the inciting incident.
She’ll spend most of the story fighting against this change. After all, life
had been going along okay so far. Not great, but good enough. But we the reader
know that if she’ll just give in to the change, she’ll be able to heal her
wound and possibly reach that happiest moment she longs for.
All of that comes from the backstory. Think about when you
get to know a person. You don’t dump your whole life story on them. In fact,
some of the most painful events of your life take a long time to come out
(usually the second half of Act II). But when you are living fully in your
character’s skin, that uneasiness they feel, that protectiveness of their wound
will all come out in the words they say, the choices they make, the things they
do.
How to do it right
From the beginning pages, there should be a sense that all
is not as it should be. That your character’s way of handling things might be
fraying around the edges. Or something new happens that her old way of handling
things just doesn’t allow for. We as the reader don’t have to know why this is
happening. Figuring that out will keep us turning the pages. But you absolutely
must know the emotional basis for why she does what she does. Everything that
occurs in the plot has to tie back to that emotional basis.
Additional resources
Jennifer's latest books~ Protective Custody: A cop burned by love falls for a key witness in a crime implicating the town’s rich and powerful. Coming Home A strong- willed young woman must discover her brother’s killer before she’s the next victim. The prequel, Be Mine, is also available. Can a simple thank you note turn into something more? Get the first chapter of Coming Home and Protective Custody at www.JenniferVanderklipp.com
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