Back story (Writing)

[Lee Chambers]

I'm having trouble with a story I'm working on for NaNoWriMo. Mainly I'm having trouble trying to decide how to fill in back story information about characters, events and places.

My main character has a fair amount of information that I want to tell about her but I'm unsure if I should just dump it all at one time near the beginning or cut it into pieces that get revealed based on events that come about in the present. And if I do the latter, how much should be revealed at a time.

 

[epiphany65]

I'm having trouble with a story I'm working on for NaNoWriMo. Mainly I'm having trouble trying to decide how to fill in back story information about characters, events and places.

My main character has a fair amount of information that I want to tell about her but I'm unsure if I should just dump it all at one time near the beginning or cut it into pieces that get revealed based on events that come about in the present. And if I do the latter, how much should be revealed at a time.

I prefer it when authors dole it out throughout the story. It's something else that keeps me interested.

 

[rgraham666]

Cut it into pieces. Dumping it all at once can be boring, and removes a lot of the tension.

 

[Saucy_Sage]

If it's important to the story, it should come up naturally in the story. You can use dialogue to explain it to other characters. Paragraph after paragraph of back story = big turnoff.

 

[jomar]

...or cut it into pieces that get revealed based on events that come about in the present. And if I do the latter, how much should be revealed at a time.

That.

As much or as little as needed as dictated by the scene. Or, you can go into flashback mode to show something relevant then return to the current scene.

 

[neonlyte]

I'm with Rob on this one (and Jomar)

 

[Lee Chambers]

My main issue is that this is what's been holding me up the last few weeks. That's why I decided to do NaNoWriMo because it would force me to just start writing things out and not worrying about how it looks.

Eventually, though, I'm going to have to sit down with what I finish and rearrange the pieces. I keep feeling like I'm either telling too much or not telling enough. I guess I need to just finish a few chapters and then re-read them and decide how it sounds.

 

[rgraham666]

A good crit partner may help. They will see things you can't.

 

[Weird Harold]

I'm having trouble with a story I'm working on for NaNoWriMo. Mainly I'm having trouble trying to decide how to fill in back story information about characters, events and places.

My main character has a fair amount of information that I want to tell about her but I'm unsure if I should just dump it all at one time near the beginning or cut it into pieces that get revealed based on events that come about in the present. And if I do the latter, how much should be revealed at a time.

Almost everything about a character should be doled out much as you learn about other people in real life.

Flashbacks are workable when you've got room to separate them out as separate scenes or chapters, but it's very easy to overdo flashbacks and give your readers 'whiplash' from swithcing back and forth.