3 Powerful Techniques to Weave Backstory Into Your Novel by Beth Barany
Hi there! Beth Barany here. As an experienced writing teacher and novelist, in this article lesson, I help you effectively weave backstory into your front story (your main narrative).
Let’s break down these three powerful techniques for you.
(This lesson is excerpted from a training offered to our members of our 12-month Group Mastermind Program for science fiction and fantasy writers. Open for enrollment!)
1. The Inner Moment Technique
This is where your character processes both the present and past simultaneously during an action scene.
It’s like a dance between what’s happening now and what happened then. This creates depth and meaning in your scene.
From Book of Margo by Meredith Ash (unpublished) – Backstory inserted in the moment
The vampire was fast, but Margo was willing to bet he hadn’t been regional champ in the hundred-yard-dash all three years of middle school like she had. And she’d done it at a fraction of her max speed so as not to alarm the humans.
From Into The Black, A Sci-Fi Mystery, (Janey McCallister Mystery, book 1) by Beth Barany – Backstory inserted in the moment during travel
Janey hurried to the chief’s office down the curving corridor.
What could Milano be uptight about? It was too early for guests to report lost items; they usually did that later in the day, after a long night of gambling and partying.
Maybe something intriguing and challenging was finally happening.
Where had that thought come from? Calm was fine. Handling petty thefts, public squabbles, card counters, and filing minor accident reports—all fine.
What more could you want, McCallister?
Mom’s current experimental medicine would be covered as long as she kept her job. That was all that mattered.
Her four-year contract would fly by, and her mother would be healthy again. Fingers crossed. She swallowed past the lump in her throat.Sure, the hotel-casino cases weren’t jetting her to one of the dozen military or civilian space stations around the planet every few days, handling high stakes cases with Sol-wide importance. That was fine. That part of her life was over. It was her turn to take care of the family. After all Mom had done for her. Her mother needed her now, and that was that.
Five minutes later, she stopped at Chief Milano’s door.
2. The Memory Bridge
Something in your character’s present triggers a specific memory.
To smoothly transition into these flashbacks, you can use these handy phrases:
– “There was that time when…”
– “It was like that time when…”
– “It reminded her of that time when…”
The key is making sure the present trigger naturally connects to the past memory.
From Book of Margo by Meredith Ash (unpublished)
It reminded Ash of the time he’d used his own Void pocket to transport a stone talisman in the shape of a life-sized aurochs.
From story notes for Book 5, Janey McCallister Mystery by Beth Barany (unpublished):
There was that time when she was learning how to fly and nearly crashed the shuttle into the hangar walls and two of the other cadets. Mortified, she couldn’t leave her bed for two days. Her CO had to send the medic and psych techs to get her back on her feet.
There was that time when she asked her mom why she didn’t have a dad like some of the other kids. Mom had given her a sloppy kiss on the cheek and said, “What? Me and your aunties aren’t enough? You need more people to love you ?!”
3. The Dialogue Gateway
Similar to the memory bridge, but this time the backstory emerges through conversation. A character might say something that sparks a memory in another character, leading to a natural revelation of past events.
2 Examples inserting backstory into dialogue, from thriller author, Ezra Barany:
Example 1:
“Ugh! Your breath smells almost as bad as my little brother. Sharing a room with him was the worst. I scrubbed my face with lavender flowers every morning to rid myself of the stench.”
Example 2:
“I know, weird huh?” He popped a jellybean in his mouth. “People don’t carry jellybeans everywhere they go.”
“Not weird at all,” she said. “My mom keeps a bottle of vanilla extract in her purse and whenever we’d go to a restaurant, she’d take out the bottle and splash some on our food, saying, ‘Here. This will make it taste better.'” She laughed. “It’s a Russian thing.”
Bonus – 4. The Creative Cutaway
This is a fun, more experimental technique where you can play with outlandish connections – think Family Guy style! (Youtube example)
You can connect your character’s current situation to fairy tales, books, or movies they love. It’s especially effective for showing your character’s deepest yearnings or fears.
Remember
The goal isn’t just to dump information about the past into your story. Instead, use these techniques to reveal backstory in ways that enhance your current scene and deepen your reader’s understanding of your characters and their relationship to the story world — important for all fiction, and especially for science fiction, fantasy, and all flavors of speculative fiction.
Happy writing!
— Beth
More Resources for Studying Backstory for Novelists
How To Write The Future podcast Episodes
How to Handle Backstory, A Story Success Clinic with Amy Johnson (How to Write The Future podcast, Ep. 71)
How do I not overload background into my stories? Story Success Clinic (How to Write The Future podcast, Ep. 90)
Where to insert backstory (Q&A) (How to Write The Future podcast, Ep. 113)
Other Articles on WFZ
Revealing Backstory through Nonverbal Communication by Kay Keppler
Backstory: Not a Dirty Word by Kay Keppler
Backstory: Leave It In The Past By Kay Keppler
Unlocking the Power of Epigraphs: Enhance Your Fantasy Novel’s World Building
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ABOUT BETH BARANY
Beth Barany teaches science fiction and fantasy novelists how to write, edit, and publish their books as a coach, teacher, consultant, and developmental editor. She’s an award-winning fantasy and science fiction novelist and runs the podcast, “How To Write The Future.”
More about Beth Barany:
Novels for Adventurous Readers of Magical Tales of Romance, Mystery, and Adventure |
Products and Services for Adventurous Novelists |
Writer’s Fun Zone blog: By Creative Writers for Creative Writers
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