The Problem With Backstory

Backstory has been on my mind a lot lately.

One reason is because I was working on a short story and I realized I needed to establish motivation for something. And when that came into focus I had to put the story on hold.

There was far more of a story in that backstory than a generic motivation. It wasn't a my-Spanish-teacher-was-a-pervert-so-I-dropped-Spanish cause and effect scenario. It was involved. Complex. There were catalysts, actions and reactions and consequences all within this particular motivation.

It was its own story. That's how I felt. Not telling it would be a disservice and it couldn't be glossed over in a few lines within the scope of a short story.

This is how short stories turn into novellas and novellas turn into novels. We discover there's more to the story than what we started off thinking.

Another reason I've been thinking about backstory is because of watching Altered Carbon. We have one episode left and I'm going to stand by what I unloaded on Brian a few nights ago.

I think they missed the core story. The backstory was compelling. Entertainment Weekly introduced their review of the show by saying:

Altered Carbon is an expensive sci-fi epic wrapped in a dull mystery

Dull mystery indeed. And that's all I need to say about it. In my opinion, they should have started the story 250 years before they did and they missed the full effect of that backstory because it was underdeveloped, in my opinion.

The other reason I've been thinking about backstory is because of The Spying Moon. When I was writing What Burns Within I asked a friend who is an avid mystery reader what they thought about withholding information about a character's past. She told me that was okay, as long as it wasn't teased out indefinitely and the reader eventually got answers.

Now, I'm a firm believer in the limits of our scope of knowledge when we meet someone. We never meet someone and know their entire history unless you're talking about the moment someone gives birth. When you go to a new school or a new club or a conference and shake hands with someone for the first time your scope of knowledge about them is limited. If they're famous or someone you know online you may know some things about them but you do not completely know them.

Heck, my husband just told me something the other night that I didn't know and we've been together for more than ten years.

Getting to know a character is a process of discovery. Nobody wants to open a book and start reading a character bio that sums up their entire life history.

Having said that, there are times it is appropriate to provide backstory. Backstory is foundational information and it can have a significant impact on a story. I realized when I'd written The Spying Moon that I wanted Moreau's state of mind to be clear at the start of the book. There are certain factors that affect her conduct. Knowing those things can make the difference between seeing her as a dedicated officer trying to do the right thing, even when it costs her personally, or seeing her as a bitchy person who isn't trying to fit in.

Finding the right balance of backstory and determining when to share that information is one of the toughest aspects of good storytelling. My general rule of thumb has been to avoid the info dump at the start of a novel and spread the information out as needed.

Since I sent out a few copies of my manuscript for peer review I've still smoothed out the backstory execution a bit. Trimmed it a little and spread it out. As a writer, it's important to ask yourself what that information clarifies for the audience. Make sure you put in what's needed to avoid confusion and establish the character's mindset or motivation.

Watching Altered Carbon reminded me that sometimes it's possible to stretch that information out too far and by withholding that info you risk losing your audience. A show that could have been an A+ must watch for me (great cast, great concepts, some truly unique characters) isn't, and a big part of that boiled down to how they handled the backstory. There are worse things than sharing some backstory near the start of a book, movie or TV show, and one of them is withholding key information that leaves the audience unnecessarily confused and frustrated.

** Please note my comments on Altered Carbon only apply to the Netflix series. I haven't read the books.

Under Construction

by Holly West

I've been struggling with structure lately. As in, how in the hell do I structure this godammed novel?

Back in October I had my current WIP professionally edited and one of the questions that came up was whether I'd waited a bit too long to introduce the dead body. I suspected it might be an an issue when I turned in the manuscript but by the time I realized it I didn't have time to re-write it. Now I have lots and lots of time to re-write it but no clue as to how to actually do it.

Have I mentioned how much I hate revising? If not, consider it said now. I HATE REVISING.

At least, I hate revising at this stage. When the book is just slightly past the first draft stage and needs a major overhaul. When you break it up into chunks and move them around, then have to go back to the beginning and fix everything so that it makes sense with the new arrangement. When you have trouble keeping track of the story because its so unwieldily and you have to pay attention to every detail for the sake of continuity. Writing a first draft is so much more fun because it's messy and you don't care because you know you have to go back to polish it anyway.

Unless you're one of those writers who write clean first drafts. I don't know how to do that.

I don't mind revising the third or fourth (or more) drafts too much because usually, by then, you've got your structure nailed and you're basically just fine-tuning. It's like staging a house--the bones of the house are there and now you get to do the fun stuff like picking out curtains and pillows and paint colors.

But right now I'm in the middle of a full-scale renovation and just like with residential renovations, it's taking three times longer than I budgeted for. Going into it, I knew my first job was fix it so that the murder happened sooner in the book. But how much sooner?

In cozies, it's pretty much a given that a dead body will show up in the first chapter, if not on the first page. But I don't think that's necessarily the case with other crime fiction sub genres. In the first draft of my WIP, the murder occurs about 15,000 words in. In draft two, I determined I'd move it to the first 10% of the book, so around 8,000 words in. After three months of half-assed work, I decided that the murder had to happen at the end of the first chapter and that's where I am now.

It's definitely a better book because of it.

The question now becomes, what do I do with the previous beginning chapters now that they're now mainly backstory? It's something I've always struggled with: balancing exposition and moving the story forward. I've solved part of the problem by re-writing some of the passages so that they simply happen in the present. That's easy. But other things, like establishing the characters and their relationships as well as some of the events leading up to the murder, are harder to incorporate. I've had to cut a lot of it altogether.

One way to approach this problem is to write a prologue. Put the murder front and center then go back in time in Chapter One and tell the story from there. Back when I started writing MISTRESS OF FORTUNE I read somewhere that prologues were frowned upon so I've never used them--they feel a little like cheating to me. But I see plenty of books by high profile authors that use prologues so it's tempting to write one for this book.

Another option is to have the action in Chapter One happen in real time then go back in time in Chapter Two. This, to me, is just a prologue by another name, but I've seen it done plenty of times. I'm just not sure it's the best way for me or for this book.

Finally, and this is the hardest way to do it, is to start the book with the murder and then fold in exposition with a light hand. It's how I've chosen to do it but right now it feels like I'm editing with big ol' Hulk fists.

Obviously I'm not the only writer to struggle with this. This is what revising is all about--figuring out the best way to tell your story. Finding the right place to begin it is crucial, so it's right that I'm taking time to experiment with it. I just need to hurry up and finish so that I can move on to installing the hardwood floors.

My question for you is: how do you feel about prologues? As a writer, do you use them? As a reader, do you mind them?

I've already answered the first question: No, I don't use them (or haven't yet). As a reader, I'm not too bothered by them but I prefer a story to start at the beginning (whatever that may be) and then go forward.

7 Years Bad Luck

by: Joelle Charbonneau

This week, I started writing the second book in my new mystery series that will debut with Berkley in July. It feels like forever since I’ve written on a new project. (In actuality, it’s been since August, but it feels a lot longer.) I was thrilled to start adding pages, but writing a book in a series with already determined characters and events is a challenge for me. It seems like writing the second or third book in the series should be easier, right? I already know the protagonist and have created character arcs that span through several books. The opening chapters of the new book should be a snap.

Only they aren’t. The first chapter of a continuing series book takes me almost twice or three times as long to write as any other chapter in the book because I am very conscious that some readers will be familiar with the characters while other readers will be visiting my cast for the very first time. I have to find a way to give information about the recurring characters that helps introduce them to new readers while not annoying or boring the readers who have already spent time with them.

As a reader, I hate when a book opens with several paragraphs or pages of information I already know from other books. I find myself skimming those pages waiting for the story to begin. And I really hate when it feels as if that I’ve already read those same descriptions or character introductions in past stories.

Because of my expectations as a reader, I find myself slaving over the first chapter or two trying to make the book stand alone while also keeping it interesting for the readers who have followed the series from the beginning. Which means I question every word of backstory I put into the book.

Backstory is a tricky thing. The writer needs to include enough character history to facilitate the story, but add too much and it can slow the pacing, overwhelm the plot or just be downright boring. With each backstory fact a writer has to ask: Does the reader need to know X? Have I found a way to describe my protagonist that feels natural? Is the backstory getting in the way of the plot?

Too many backstory or information dumps can derailed your story before it even begins. The best description I’ve heard as to how best to use backstory is this: Pretend your backstory is a mirror. Take the mirror off the wall and throw it on the ground so it shatters into thousands of little tiny pieces. Then scatter those pieces throughout your book. If you do it right your story will only have utilized a very small percentage of that broken mirror.

So right now I’m throwing my mirror on the floor, stomping up and down on it and trying to pick the best, most necessary pieces to include in this book. And I’m driving myself nuts in the process. Because of that, I admit that I’m curious – if you’re a writer – do you struggle with backstory usage? How you do decide what backstory to include in your books? And for the readers, do you get annoyed when information from one book appears in the next or do you cut the author a break? Tell me what works and doesn’t work for you. Meanwhile, I’m going to keep stomping on my mirror and hoping that the metaphorical version doesn’t bring me 7 years of bad luck.