what are character backstories?
character backstories is anything that happened to your character before the main story begun. it a crucial part of character development and creation and can help you have a strong sense of the character’s background (and probably one of the reasons why the character does something in the present!)
flashbacks can be a powerful way to make a promise to a reader. any cataclysmic event might trigger the protagonist into getting a flashback. flashbacks don't only provide an insight to the character's past but also intrigue readers.
Use verb tense shifts to move between the flashback and main narrative. Whenever your narrative or characters recall a memory from a time before the story began, you have two choices. If the memory is short, you can describe it briefly. If it’s longer, you may want to pull the reader back into a full scene describing a past event. It important to mark the beginning and end of a flashback to make your time jumps clear to the reader.
Keep them relevant. Flashbacks help fill in the characters’ motives and history, but if they are too long or tedious, the reader will get bored. If you use flashbacks, always be aware that time is still moving in the front story, and make sure that your reader can hear the clock in that front story ticking.
Sometimes the whole book is the flashback. it can start with a character narrating the story to someone else. Framing the events of the storyline this way, with a dual point-of-view into a character’s life over the passage of time, can bring more nuance to the storytelling. Before using this technique, ask yourself whether the character’s arc is dramatic enough to make for interesting retrospection.
Tell the present story first. Sometimes it may not be clear where a flashback belongs until you’ve completed your first draft and have a complete view of the storyline.
sometimes a simple conversation might let the character reveal few of the past events to the person they trust or look forward to. it can be a good way to hide the backstory all the while giving it to the readers.
let the character 'reflect' on how far they have come. introspection or reflection is one of the ways in which your character can reveal their backstories in the present narrative.
Prologues come before chapter one and could be expository/introductory prose, a poem, diary letter, news clipping, or anything in between.
1. Using a prologue as a place for a massive dump… information dump.
Information dumps are one of the easiest ways to make readers’ eyes glaze over. Paragraphs of text that provide dense (albeit important) background information are tough to digest. Without strategically trickling this information throughout a scene or throughout the chapters/book, readers can be immediately turned off to a story.
2. A prologue that has nothing to do with the main story.
Prologues need to somehow propel or impact your main plot. Period. If your prologue is filled with action, offers bite-sized pieces of background information, and weaves a compelling scene but is not relevant to your main plot, you probably need to re-think your strategy.
It doesn’t matter if your writing is solid if the scenes aren’t strategically moving toward that pretty plot arc—depicting an emotional journey for your character and exhibiting the stakes for your protagonist and the world at large.
3. Prologues that are too long.
The modern reader (often) prefers shorter chapters—prologues included. If your prologue is longer than most of your chapters (or if both your prologue and chapters are longer), it might be time to reevaluate the structure and pacing of your chapters.
4. Using the prologue to hook the reader as the sole purpose.
think of the prologues that throw the reader into the action—and I mean the middle of the action. Maybe it’s the center of a bloody battlefield or twisted in the sheets of a love affair. Whatever it is, the reader is unceremoniously plunked into the action in a world they’re unfamiliar with and whose characters they don’t yet know (and love).
While action scenes are a gripping way to begin a story, consider whether or not this action is important to the central plot and if this beginning isn’t too overwhelming/confusing for the reader to acclimate to.
5. Using the prologue strictly to provide atmosphere or to do some early-on world building.
World building is one of the things readers love most about fantasy and science fiction. These delicious details are… well… delicious! The setting is described with enough detail to have the readers visualizing the character’s surroundings but not too much to bog down the pace of the scene.
Background/History: This type of prologue provides background to the history of the world and events that previously transpired—such as a major battle or betrayal. These events typically took place before the beginning of your story and somehow significantly impact the events going forward.
Different Point of View (POV): This type of prologue could be advantageous when diving into another character’s perspective—particularly when that character’s insight is only needed once and provides a foundation for the story.
Protagonist (Past or Future): These prologues are great for showing a pivotal moment for the protagonist—either in the past or in the future (such as a defining moment years ago or after the main plot has taken place).
Fear not, writers. Prologues aren’t all bad. In fact, they come in handy in a number of scenarios:
To provide a “quick-and-dirty” glimpse of important background information without the need of flashbacks, dialogue, or memories that interrupt the action later on in the book.
Hook the reader into the action right away while having the readers asking questions relevant to the central plot—and therefore eager to learn those answers in the opening chapters.
Offer information the reader couldn’t otherwise glean from the plot (such as a break from the point-of-view narration or from a different character’s perspective).
Introduce the antagonist—providing background motives that either humanizes the character or exhibits his/her evil intentions. This angle can be handy if the protagonist doesn’t meet the antagonist until later on in the book.
Introduce a philosophy or religious belief important to the plot/setting.
Foreshadow future events, thereby creating suspense for the reader and get them asking questions (and eagerly reading on).
Consider the following questions:
What information am I providing in the prologue? Why is it important to reveal it up front? Can it be revealed throughout the story in smaller trickles and still be as impactful (or more)?
Does this character’s POV come up again later in the story? If so, would this work as a first chapter instead?
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