tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post6389931554231289133..comments2024-03-28T06:59:34.982-06:00Comments on Blood-Red Pencil: Backstory: How Much do You Use?Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14471919576687777886noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-80020318218981754632014-04-07T17:57:09.926-06:002014-04-07T17:57:09.926-06:00I do present character backstory in opening paragr...I do present character backstory in opening paragraphs, but it is always implicit and thoroughly melded into the action. (See, for example, first pages of <i>Gasline</i>.)Larry Constantine (Lior Samson)http://amazon.com/author/liorsamson/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-45139694275559680912014-04-07T17:48:23.704-06:002014-04-07T17:48:23.704-06:00I've almost finished an entire novella that is...I've almost finished an entire novella that is nothing but backstory! Mercy.Danihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14471919576687777886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-15315631094945286412014-04-07T12:53:12.537-06:002014-04-07T12:53:12.537-06:00If we writers would remember what we like to read,...If we writers would remember what we like to read, the backstory problem would not exist. I love the comment about backstory being like an IV drip. That's a perfect description. <br /><br />We dribble in the backstory as needed. Readers do not need to know everything, but they do need to know why characters do what they do. If abuse happened to your character and is now motivating her behavior, that can be shown with snippets of backstory. That's how I handled it in The Clock Strikes Midnight. The fact that my readers do not know exactly why my characters are doing things but they know it pertains to their past, keeps the suspense heightened. The snippets (or the IV drip) give the reader just enough to keep reading.<br /><br />I haven't read Icebound but it sounds wonderful and will go on my must read list. Thanks for sharing.<br /><br />Joan Curtis<br />www.joancurtis.comJoanCurtishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16224850170022507851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-44223800691843963092014-04-07T12:45:58.811-06:002014-04-07T12:45:58.811-06:00Great, Kathryn! Love your example.Great, Kathryn! Love your example.Heidiwriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02593338979995203659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-81461227777415084382014-04-07T12:45:03.008-06:002014-04-07T12:45:03.008-06:00That's right, Linda. Often we writers know a l...That's right, Linda. Often we writers know a lot more about our characters than we will ever share with our readers. It does take practice,practice, practice to learn our craft! We never stop learning!Heidiwriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02593338979995203659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-37975024924681529372014-04-07T12:43:55.551-06:002014-04-07T12:43:55.551-06:00Right on, Christopher!Right on, Christopher!Heidiwriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02593338979995203659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-51952350721573917552014-04-07T12:43:40.333-06:002014-04-07T12:43:40.333-06:00I love the analogy for the IV drip--just perfect!I love the analogy for the IV drip--just perfect!Heidiwriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02593338979995203659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-8485713433372443132014-04-07T12:43:10.475-06:002014-04-07T12:43:10.475-06:00I agree, Diana. I tend to skim those long passages...I agree, Diana. I tend to skim those long passages too. I like it much better when I'm "teased" with a tidbit of information here and there.Heidiwriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02593338979995203659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-37758278046861863862014-04-07T12:41:57.118-06:002014-04-07T12:41:57.118-06:00Heather, your methods of using backstory for memoi...Heather, your methods of using backstory for memoir or real-life stories seems effective.Heidiwriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02593338979995203659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-2174379359421870382014-04-07T11:26:14.153-06:002014-04-07T11:26:14.153-06:00Heidi backstory is such a great topic, and importa...Heidi backstory is such a great topic, and important to the success of your story. I once set out to use "backstory" as a workshop topic, and found so many great techniques that it becomes an eight-week series!<br /><br />Terry I love those two tips! I say wait as long as possible—until your reader simply has to have this info, now!—and then make sure it's motivating the action in the current scene. As in, the characters are about to make love/sexual abuse flashback/while he uses the bathroom she picks up her clothes and leaves. Then again, being a "waiter," I might have her gather her clothes and leave just to raise another question in the reader's mind, and feed the backstory out even later!Kathryn Crafthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08371458857187160425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-39748014358594171302014-04-07T10:02:18.313-06:002014-04-07T10:02:18.313-06:00Backstory's vital because it makes the charact...Backstory's vital because it makes the character who he or she is. It also lays the groundwork for action and reaction, as noted by your reference to the Koontz book. Working the past (backstory) seamlessly into the present is an acquired skill, but one worth cultivating. Personally, I know my characters' histories well; however, I use them only as needed to explain/justify an action or dialogue that might otherwise seem somewhere out in left field. Linda Lanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16056682992943171805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-87721176545658994652014-04-07T08:51:15.976-06:002014-04-07T08:51:15.976-06:00I'm with you, Heidi ... for me, 'baby don&...I'm with you, Heidi ... for me, 'baby don't got back'.Christopher Hudsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03667548312923348614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-77331508677305866572014-04-07T08:30:50.205-06:002014-04-07T08:30:50.205-06:00Early on, I got 2 bits of good advice about back s...Early on, I got 2 bits of good advice about back story. It's an IV drip, not tube-feeding. The other: You just meet someone at a cocktail party. How much of your life do you reveal? Those have helped me a lot. Until you need a fact, no need to tell the reader. Of course, the fact that I never do those character sketches helps because I don't have that back story to dump. Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-69220692568470434722014-04-07T07:49:57.506-06:002014-04-07T07:49:57.506-06:00I use it sparingly and never start with it. My rul...I use it sparingly and never start with it. My rules are: it must be essential to the plot, define the characters in an important way, and be delivered in a way that isn't boring. A lot of "baggage" can come out of a heated exchange or a short internal monologue rant. The tension lies in the character not being able to say what he wants to say. When I find pages of backstory dump, I skim it. It is a prime field for narrator intrusion.Diana Hurwitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18216220574149672733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-88156872000227011562014-04-07T06:27:57.950-06:002014-04-07T06:27:57.950-06:00I'm working on a first-person memoir, some of ...I'm working on a first-person memoir, some of the backstory necessary to explain the abuse I received is told to therapists. They ask questions and I am able to answer (often with thoughts like, why is he asking about her when I want to talk about me). Another way I've used backstory is in conversation. For example, asking questions about a photograph in my room and having my mom tell me some of her past or looking through a photo album and dialoguing. The last way I did some backstory was during a church testimonial meeting where my father stood up and told of a healing he had - but it also gave backstory. None of the passages are long, but they provide the reader with the information they need in a first-person way. The conversations I report really happened, so it is authentic.Heather Marstenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17442467779057850945noreply@blogger.com