How to Dish Out Backstory in Digestible Bites

 


It's that time of the year again--contest judging. I've talked about it one here before, but I think volunteering to judge contests is (beyond being a nice thing to do) one of the greatest exercises a writer can go through. Looking for specific things in other works often helps us develop a more critical eye for our own work. I know it's definitely helped me.
Now when I'm judging, I usually see a little bit of everything--some spectacular things, some really beginner efforts, and everything in between. But as I go through the entries this year for my local RWA's chapter contest, one of the trends I'm seeing is the dreaded backstory dump.
We've probably all made this mistake at one time or another. This is why a lot of people suggest writing your book, then cutting the first three chapters because it's probably all backstory. Now, that's a little drastic, but I think there is a nugget of truth in that.
So today I'm going to cover how to share that history and backstory with the reader without choking them.  Think of backstory like a big steak--you can't swallow the whole thing at once, it must be cut up and devoured in small, juicy bites.  Ideally, these bites will blend so well with the rest of the story, that the reader will barely notice that you've slipped it in on them.
So first let's look at some choking hazards:
Prologue--These are notorious for being solely backstory, which is probably why they've developed a bit of a bad reputation.  Make sure what you have in your prologue (if you have one) can't be sprinkled in somewhere  else instead.
First Chapters--This is where it's most tempting to put in big blocks of backstory.  Resist!  Your story should start in the middle of things.  Readers don't have to know all the background yet, get them to the action so you can hook them.  Pay particular attention to chapters 1-3 in your first draft.  Many times it's where we as writers are working out the story for ourselves (which is fine as long as you go back and cut them during revision).
Alright, now for some ways to blend in that backstory...
Dialogue
This is an easy and obvious way to reveal information to your reader.  However, watch out for the traps with this.
--Make sure that the conversation is realistic and that there is a reason for it to be happening besides slipping in backstory to the reader.
   NOT "I can't believe you cheated on me six months ago with someone half my age." (the guy would already know that)
   INSTEAD "How's your new bimbo? Has she graduated high school yet?"
--Make sure the conversation comes up naturally and not out of the blue.  Something needs to trigger that discussion.
--Use action to break up the dialogue so it doesn't start sounding like an info dump.
Flashback
Where your character relives in their head a past event as it happened.  Unlike a memory, they don't filter the events through their current point of view.
--Be very careful with this one.  Many people advise against flashbacks.  But I think if used correctly and sparingly they can work.
--Something has to trigger the flashback. That memory needs to be brought to mind by some object, situation, person, etc.
--Make it clear that it is a flashback so your reader doesn't get confused.  Some people use italics to help with this.
Memory
Similar to flashback, but the memory is seen through the person's current POV.
--Sprinkle this in.  Like everything else, large chunks of prose on a memory will get tedious.
--Just like the others, the memory must be triggered by something.  Don't have your MC vacuuming and just suddenly think of how her father died (unless it was death by vacuum).
--Can build and foreshadow throughout the story, not revealing everything up front.  For instance, in my category romance, my MC goes to a concert and for a moment she's reminded of a tragic night years ago.  But all I show is that she has a sick feeling and that she remembers to the day how long it's been since she's seen a concert--which lets us know something important happened back then, but I don't say anything about what it is specifically, just foreshadow.
--Ex.) He smiled at her, and for a moment, she was reminded of the boy he used to be, the one she used to love.  (See, that tells us they had a previous relationship and that something changed along the way.  Just enough to whet the reader's appetite.)
Thoughts
Using direct thoughts instead of narrative.
--This doesn't have to be a specific memory, but can let us know that there is something there behind the thought.
--i.e. "Don't you just let go and have fun sometimes?" he asked.  She shook her head and averted her eyes.  "No." Not anymore.
Action
Sometimes you can use some event in your story to relay past events.
--i.e.  A news story comes on TV talking about a cold case murder that relates to your MC.
The easiest way for me to figure out how to put in backstory is to think like a screenwriter.  They cannot tell you things in a movie, they have to show it all.  So how would I convey this information if it were a movie?
Alright, so those are my tips, what are some of yours?  How do you sneak in your backstory?  And do you put down a book if it's pages and pages of backstory to start?

*This is an updated re-post from Dec. 2009
 
**Today's Theme Song**
"The Story" - 30 Seconds to Mars
 
(player in sidebar if you'd like a listen.  I ♥ this song.)

 

Story Beginnings: Agent and Publisher Opinions

 

Alien pod plants
Photo by Dave Gingrich (click pic for link)
Last week I talked about the opening sentence. You guys had a great debate in the comments, so it's clear that we all have different opinions. So, in lieu of so many of you starting a new story for NaNoWriMo, I thought I would share some of the tidbits from Hooked that the author got straight from agents and editors.  
What beginning makes them stop reading?

 

  • You didn't get them on page one. We need to have them at hello.
  • Starting with backstory or a static character introduction.
  • Hooking the reader with something that has nothing to do with the story--a gotcha.
  • Not clearly identifying the POV character--sex, age, etc.
  • Starting with weather, scenery, dreams, waking up for the day, or a passive scene (any description should be about movement).
  • Too much tell not enough show.
  • Pulling a bait and switch--i.e. having an opening that is dark and serious then jumping to a chick litty voice in the next scene/chapter.
  • Clunky sentences, bad grammar, hemorrhaging adverbs, etc. One editor said that if sentence one isn't good, why should he expect it's going to get any better with sentence two. Others said that by the end of the first page, they know if the person can write or not.
So what should you do to get them to turn the page?
  • Start with people--novels are not about scenery
  • Don't open with a villain. You want your readers to connect with your protagonist first. (An agent admitted that many established authors do this, but it's typically in series where the reader is already familiar with the protagonist.)
  • Starting in the middle of the action.
  • Having an irresistible hook.
  • Action, conflict, crisis, or danger (this from agent Janet Reid).

Additional advice from the agents/editors...
  • Don't worry about your beginning until you finish the book. Once you have a whole, it's easier to know where to start.
  • Oftentimes the first three chapters can be scrapped because it's just you working out the story for yourself.
Alright, so at least that gives us permission to write crappy beginnings the first go round. :) 
So what about you guys? What do you think of this advice? Do you have trouble finding the right place to start? Have you made any of these mistakes above?
**Today's Theme Song**
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" - U2
(player in sidebar, go ahead and take a listen)

 

Friday Face Off: Is the First Line THAT Important?

 

With the recent opening paragraph contests over at Nathan Bransford's and Lori Brighton's blogs, along with reading Hooked, I'm getting seriously paranoid about the gravity of sentence one of page one in chapter one.
In Hooked, Les Edgerton says:
Your first sentence or paragraph may be the most important writing in your story. They may well be what sells your manuscript to an agent or editor.
It also can be the difference maker on a sale to a reader later on. I have to admit that I am one of those people that opens to the first page and reads the first line when I'm browsing in a bookstore. Even Amazon posts the opening line underneath the titles of many of their books. I read the blurb for the book too, but a great opening line can win me over. So we may only have seconds to impress that agent/publisher/reader.
No pressure, right?
So what the heck makes a great opening sentence? Les suggests that the first sentence is "part of the whole" and should contain at least a hint of the end.
When I first read that, I was like, oh hell, that seems impossible. But then I thought through some great opening lines I've read and he's right. Many opening sentences hint at the theme or foreshadow future events if only in a subtle way.
I grabbed a few random books off my shelves for some examples:
The whole enormous deal wouldn't have happened, none of it, if Dad hasn't messed up his hip moving the manure spreader.--Dairy Queen, Catherine Murdock
Just when I though my day couldn't get any worse I saw the dead guy standing next to my locker.--Marked, PC Cast and Kristen Cast
The terror, which would not end for another twenty-eight years--if it ever did end--began, so far as I know or can tell, with a boat made from a sheet of newspaper floating down a gutter swollen with rain.--It, Stephen King
Years later Amy would remember the day she saw inside the spider house.--Nazareth Hill, Ramsey Campbell
Sybil Davison has a genius I.Q. and has been laid by at least six different guys.--Forever, Judy Blume
As an interactive horror experience, with beasts from Hell, mayhem, gore, and dismemberment, it was an impressive event. As a high school prom, however, the evening was marginally less successful.--Prom Dates From Hell, Rosemary Clement-Moore
Great lines, right? Made me want to read more for sure. And having read these books, each one of these hints at the overall theme or the ending.
When I'm writing a rough draft, I try not to think about this heavily weighted line, but at the same time, I think if you can get that first line in decent shape early on, it can help guide you through the rest of the book.
Here are the openings from both my romance (which I've posted once before) and my newest WIP. (The new WIP is just started, so this line will probably change because although it hints at theme, it doesn't hint at end.) You can let me know if these hook you or not.
From Wanderlust:

 

Southern gentility be damned. Nice was getting her nowhere. Aubrey Bordelon put her hands on her hips and attempted an I-mean-business face. “Look, I’m not here to get laid.”

 

From Exposure Therapy:

 

 

Brynn LaBreck’s date was spiraling toward DEFCON 1—imminent disaster. Her sexy banker had jumped from possible fantasy fulfiller to potential therapy client in a span of twenty minutes.

 

 

So what do you think about the whole first line emphasis? Do you believe it's well-founded or do you think we shouldn't stress so much about one simple sentence/paragraph? What are your first lines or what's your favorite first line from a book?

**Today's Theme Song**
"Ten Seconds to Love" - Motley Crue
(player in sidebar, go ahead and take a listen)

 

What Kind of First Chapter Writer are You?

 

Chapter One. Two seemingly innocuous words. But they strike bone-chilling fear in most writers. If these first few pages fail to hook the agent/editor, your chance at getting published can fizzle in the few seconds it takes them to hit the eject button. No pressure, right?

So most of us know what a first chapter needs in theory. Starting in medias res, right in the middle off things. Hook the reader, draw them in, instantly. So why is it so hard to accomplish? According to these Harlequin editors, writers often fall into one of these first chapter categories.
The empty Book
Photo by Kazi Harok Al-Arafat (click pic for link)

 
The Free Spirit
This writer doesn't outline or plan, so she's not sure where her story is going, who her characters really are, or what the plot points will be. So this ends up in a meandering, unfocused first chapter.

Solution: Make sure that you revamp that first chapter dramatically after the whole story is together so that the threads are started clearly.

 
The Procrastinator

This writer writes her way into the story. Chapter one turns into a sea of backstory and description to set up the story instead of actually starting the story.

Solution: Often it is hard to start a story without writing out the backstory for yourself. Do this as a writing exercise, not as the first chapter. Then take the elements of that backstory and sprinkle them in throughout the story.


 
No-Man (or Woman's)-Land

This is related to the procrastinator. The writer spends too much time on other things and doesn't introduce the main characters until Chapter two. This is more important in some genres than others. In romance, hero and heroine should both make an appearance quickly. IMO, YA should also start with the MC. In suspense or thriller, you may have an opening incident from the killer's perspective or something so there are exceptions.

Solution: Your story is ultimately about your characters, so make sure we meet the main ones quickly. Endless description, world-building, etc. in chapter one will lose a lot of people.


 
Saves the Best for Last

This writer thinks that readers will hang on until chapter four or five for the main conflict/action to get going.

Solution: Start your story where it "gets good". If you find yourself saying to your beta-readers, oh just wait until you get to here... you may want to cut those first few chapters.


 
Me-Me-Me

This writer is the storyteller so sets about telling us everything from the author's perspective instead of letting the characters talk for themselves. This separates the readers from the story.

Solution: Let the characters show the reader what's going on.


 
The Party Animal

This writer loves characters, lots of them, so there's a party of minor players and a swarm of names bombarding the reader in chapter one. Who's the MC? How can we tell?

Solution: Minor characters and subplots are great, but keep it to a minimum in the first chapter. The reader has to be able to identify the MCs.


 
The Show-Stopper

This writer knows how to write a killer opening line and scene. But after that, goes down in a blaze of glory. Think of these as that great movie preview that makes you desperate to see a film, then after you spend your 8 bucks, you realize the preview was the only good part of the movie.

Solution: Treat every chapter like the first chapter. You can lose a reader at any time. So make sure every scene is interesting, moves the plot forward, and keeps the reader wanting more.

I'm hoping that in my recent WIP, I haven't fallen into these categories. With the short length of category romance, you don't have a choice but to jump in and get thing rolling quickly. But I know with my first WIP, I definitely suffered from a combination of the Procrastinator and Saving the Best for Last.

Have you found yourself in one of these camps before? Which one do you gravitate toward if not paying attention?

Alright, now a few links:

  • Angie over at Gumbo Writer is re-launching the Rose and Thorn Journal today, which is "a quarterly literary journal featuring the voices of emerging and established authors, poets and artists." They have a free newsletter, so hop on over and check them out.
  • Editor to Rent created a list of Marks of an Amateur that they see in submissions. Really helpful.
  • And, I wanted to mention for those of you who are new to this blog that I am now marking all writing craft entries with the "writer toolbox" label. So if you want a quick link to all crafty things, click on writer toolbox in the labels box in the right sidebar. Or click here.
  • And lastly, I now have a retweet button at the bottom of each entry, so if you find an article helpful, I'd love for your to tweet me. Wait, that sounds dirty. Well, you know what I mean.
UPDATE: Just ran across this article today on what TO DO in the first chapter over at The Kill Zone. Check it out. Great stuff

Alright, that's it. Make sure you let me know what type of first chapter writer you are. :)

**Today's Theme Song**
"Kickstart My Heart" - Motley Crue
(player in sidebar--go ahead, take a listen)