Crafting Backstories Without Slowing Your Narrative
Character backstories are sometimes vital to explain motivations or mindsets. However, it's crucial to master how to write them so your novel doesn't get bogged down in events preceding the current timeline. Here are some techniques to help.
The 5 w’s of story – where, what, why, who and when – can all change to create variety and interest. None of these elements must change. The characters in your novel or your setting could remain fairly constant. Yet change opens up possibilities for new developments and intriguing new scenarios. These keep your novel exciting and interesting. To avoid your story stagnating in a single location, shift somewhere new – another town or country, from the city to the countryside or vice versa. Make sure any change of setting makes sense in relation to the story.
If a Novel's Midsection Feels Sluggish and Rushed, Cut Ruthlessly
This marks the first part of our series on writing and developing backstories. More tips will follow in upcoming articles. Don't forget to comment with topics you'd like covered!
Match Analysis
It’s great that you share these tips with young and aspiring writers. Even though they may not be writing novels, I believe it will be very useful for them to learn something new from a really skilled writer like you. I’d be glad to hear some recommendations on how a writer can develop the plot without cutting down chapters (I often see it in the books of young writers). Anyway, thank you for this post, it is very informative!
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I completely agree on your last point regarding character dynamics. Finding the right way to develop relationships between main characters would be fantastic and very engaging.