{"id":17637,"date":"2017-09-12T01:00:09","date_gmt":"2017-09-12T08:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=17637"},"modified":"2017-09-09T14:21:24","modified_gmt":"2017-09-09T21:21:24","slug":"backstory-not-dirty-word-kay-keppler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2017\/09\/12\/backstory-not-dirty-word-kay-keppler\/","title":{"rendered":"Backstory: Not a Dirty Word by Kay Keppler"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Zero<\/a>Let\u2019s\u00a0welcome\u00a0back monthly columnist, editor, and novelist,\u00a0Kay Keppler<\/a>, as she shares with us \u201cBackstory: Not a Dirty Word.\u201d\u00a0Enjoy!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all heard the first commandment for writers:<\/strong> never open your book with backstory. And the second commandment? No infodumps. And the third? Sprinkle that backstory throughout your book.<\/p>\n

Backstory<\/em>. It\u2019s like a dirty word.<\/p>\n

The Problem with Backstory<\/strong><\/p>\n

Backstory<\/em> refers to events that happen before your story begins. And that\u2019s why we want to use it judiciously\u2014because if it\u2019s not part of the current action, it\u2019s not part of the story, and it just slows readers down. Sittin\u2019 and thinkin\u2019 (\u201cI remember back when I was five\u2026\u201d) leaves your reader wondering where the action went, and infodumps are boring.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean that backstory can\u2019t be used effectively, even in your openings. Used sparingly, it can work as a bonding agent, connecting readers emotionally to a character who\u2019s facing a change in circumstance.<\/p>\n

In addition, the things that happened to your characters way back when can resonate with the now<\/em> of your action.<\/p>\n

Showing the Present through the Past<\/strong><\/p>\n

Consider the film Casablanca<\/a>.<\/em> In an early scene, the Nazi major Strasser asks Rick if he can imagine the Germans in \u201chis beloved Paris.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not particularly my beloved Paris,\u201d Rick says. Why not? What happened in Paris? We don\u2019t know, because it\u2019s not part of the now<\/em>, it\u2019s not part of what happens in Casablanca. But it\u2019s a quick glimpse of backstory that hints why Rick is a loner. The mystery deepens when Rick blows up because Sam, the pianist, plays As Time Goes By<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Later, Captain Renault and Rick disagree about whether Victor Laszlo will escape Casablanca. Here\u2019s the dialogue:<\/p>\n

Rick<\/strong>: Whatever gave you the impression that I might be interested in helping Laszlo escape?<\/p>\n

Renault<\/strong>: Because, my dear Ricky, I suspect that under that cynical shell you\u2019re at heart a sentimentalist. Oh, laugh if you will, but\u2026[i]n 1935 you ran guns to Ethiopia. In 1936, you fought in Spain on the Loyalist side.<\/p>\n

Rick<\/strong>: And got well paid for it on both occasions.<\/p>\n

Renault<\/strong>: The winning side would have paid you much better.<\/p>\n

This indication that Rick once fought for causes he believed in explains why he allows the orchestra to play La Marseillaise<\/em> over the German officers singing a Nazi anthem. And it shows that Renault sees through Rick\u2019s fa\u00e7ade.<\/p>\n

Backstory as Character Development<\/strong><\/p>\n

Using backstory in the way that Casablanca<\/em>\u2019s screenwriters wrote Rick lets readers or viewers understand and assess his character, just as Captain Renault did in the film. Further, that deft handling helps to eliminate awkward explanatory dialogue. (\u201cAs you know, Dave, because you\u2019re my brother, when dad beat us and set fire to the house, I emerged unscathed, but you were burned beyond recognition. That scarred you internally and externally.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Backstory like that never works. But you might want to try using relevant and brief<\/em> backstory, interspersed with action, in your narration.<\/p>\n

How brief? In his workshops, James Scott Bell<\/a> suggests that students try three sentences of backstory in the first five pages, spread out or used all at once, and then three paragraphs in the next five pages, spread out or all at once. It\u2019s a guideline you might want to try.<\/p>\n

But Sometimes\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course, for every rule, there\u2019s an exception. To Kill A Mockingbird<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and many other terrific novels begin with a big chunk of backstory. Harper Lee<\/a> opens her brilliant book with backstory told from a compelling first person point of view\u2014that of Scout, her eight-year-old protagonist.<\/p>\n

But for most of us and the stories we tell, starting with a small dose of backstory rather than a large bucketful is a smarter way to begin. Leading with action and using backstory as a bonding agent is a structure that grabs readers and doesn\u2019t let go.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s what we all\u2014writers and readers alike\u2014want from our books.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR<\/h2>\n

Kay Keppler<\/a>\"Kay<\/a>\u00a0is an author\u00a0Zero Gravity Outcasts<\/a><\/em>, Betting on Hope<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Gargoyle: Three Enchanting Romance Novellas<\/a><\/em>, and editor of fiction and nonfiction \u2013Angel\u2019s Kiss<\/a><\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Outsource It<\/em>!<\/p>\n

She lives in northern California. Contact her here at Writer\u2019s Fun Zone in the comments below, or at\u00a0kaykeppler@yahoo.com<\/a>\u00a0to ask questions, suggest topics, or if you prefer, complain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve all heard the first commandment for writers: never open your book with backstory. And the second commandment? No infodumps. And the third? 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