 Mystery: October 07, 2015 Issue [#7253] |
  Mystery
This week: Creating backstory Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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Quote for the week: The past always looks better than it was. It's only pleasant because it isn't here.
~ Finley Peter Dunne
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Many writers find developing and presenting backstory one of the most difficult parts of writing, but it is extremely important. Your characters all had lives before page one of your story, and the events of their past may have set the story in motion. Backstory is especially important in a mystery, because your characters (and readers) may need to understand the past before they can solve the puzzle in the present.
Developing backstory for your characters isn't the hard part. You probably already know the entire life history of each of your favorite characters. Some of them maybe share a few characteristics and experiences with you. The hard part is deciding how much of that history you need to present in the story and how to present it.
Presenting backstory can be difficult, because it goes against the natural desire to keep the story moving forward. The best way to present the backstory will be different for each story, but try not to let it impede your forward momentum any more than you have to.
Whenever possible, try to "show" your backstory instead of "tell" it. Conversations and body language between two characters can sometimes show their history more clearly than several paragraphs of narrative description. Don't rely on an omniscient third person narrator to do what characters can do for themselves. If your characters are questioned by the police, a large amount of the backstory can be brought out in the interrogation. Of course, backstory provided by a character may not be true, especially if that character is the guilty party.
If you find that a large amount of backstory is necessary, you may consider presenting it in a prologue rather than flashbacks. Flashbacks should be as brief as possible if used at all. Don't be surprised if the backstory becomes more interesting than the story you initially started to write. That sometimes happens when characters and events take on a life of their own. It just means you have another story to write!
In a mystery, you might need to be careful when and how you reveal certain parts of the backstory, because they may be a part of the solution. In this case be sure to hint at the backstory without giving too much away until the proper time. For example, if a seemingly devoted husband has actually been cheating on his wife for years, and this information will help solve your mystery, hint at it through his words and actions without making it too obvious.
Something to try: Take a story you have already written, and write a prequel.
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