Backstory- It's Like... Snow

Hello everyone!

I'll try to keep this post brief, partially because I've realized how many words I tend to have per post and because I'm tight on time.

So here goes.

Backstory is your main character's past- their parents, history, etc. It's like snow because it doesn't take much to become a problem. Your readers want to know what's going on now, rather than what happened before. But remember that action needs to stem from something- that's why backstory is typically kept in the beginning of a novel.

There. That's all.

Just kidding! I could go into so much detail, but I shall restrain myself.

Backstory explains why your character does what he/she does. Why they react to certain situations different ways. That's another reason why it's kept in the beginning- if your beginning has action (like it should) that action has to stem from some conflict.

But don't tell the readers everything in one massive heap. For one, its not totally necessary to know how Jimmy was bullied in Kindergarden, and two, it's kind of boring. Let's be real here. When you're reading a story, you skip the boring parts. Backstory = skipping. Unless, for example, Jimmy is holding a sniper rifle to the head of a Mafia Lord, and that Mafia Lord just happens to be one of the bullies from Jimmy's Kindergarden class.

Only include the things that are absolutely necessary. As in, plug it in when the reader needs to know it and put in as little as possible.

Fang, from the Maximum Ride series (the last comes out the 14th- I'm so excited!), is one of my favorite characters ever. And all you need to know about him, concerning his backstory, is that he was altered by scientists who then performed tests on him and made him part avian. He escaped, and trusts no one. It explains why he beats up anyone who dares touch him or any of his five friends. And why he doesn't talk. Sort of. Backstory doesn't have to explain the details of a character's character. If that made any sense at all... hmm.

Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, tells authors to never have dialogue explain backstory, because that creates a third 'character' in the scene- the reader- and that takes away from the creativeness of the story.

So, in short, here's the guidelines for backstory:
1) Every character needs it.
2) Don't give it in one big glop. Spread it out through the story.
3) Only tell what is absolutely necessary for the reader to know.
4) Make backstory matter.

There you go!

And aren't you proud of me? I figured out how to add an image to a post!

Oh- I almost forgot- what do you all want me to blog about? Any topic in particular? Tell me!