Extra Innings: Can You Go Home Again? By Don Massenzio

seven Tips to Writing Character Backstories: Prepare the Cutting Room

Natsu, Goku, Monkey D. Luffy, Naruto, and Ichigo

John W. Howell asked:You take the most fabulous backstories and histories for your characters. what compels you lot to develop these backstories? Practise you use all of the history and backstories or are some waiting to be employed?

At present, I have no existent answer to the commencement part because the backstories simply come out.  I enjoy doing character bios to become a feel for them earlier I practice the outlines.  This is where a lot of my subplots come from too.  Every bit far as the second question, I don't utilize everything because some backstory points never get an opening to announced.  For example, Luke Callindor had a lot of childhood stories that got slipped in during Beginning of a Hero , but I cut them because they came out of nowhere and served no purpose.  You didn't really need them to tell that Luke had a habit of getting into trouble.

This is a pretty sure post, and so I'm making this a humorous list of tips for those who struggle with backstories.

1. Yous don't need to accept it set to got right abroad.  Sometimes, a backstory will appear naturally as the character goes through his adventure.  This can help explain skills, fears, and overall personality, which means yous don't have a hero or villain who comes off equally someone who merely 'appeared.
2. Shared backstories tin be a lot of fun, but yous accept to exist conscientious.  If the two characters show no similarities in habits and culture that would stem from such a connection and so it will fall flat.  You lot besides don't desire it to be one-sided with only one grapheme remembering and the other never acknowledging it.  This tin can be used as a subplot, but you demand to give a reason for the avoidance.
3. Just because y'all came up with a quirky backstory thought doesn't mean you take to employ it.  You need an opening for the revelation or it volition come up off as a pointless info dump that breaks the flow of a story.
4. Don't give anybody a tragic backstory.  Afterwards a while, the readers might question your own childhood.
5. Amnesia is not ever the reply when you can't effigy out a backstory.  Sure, information technology works for soap operas and whoever unmasks Spider-Human.  Seriously, why does the kid keep superheroing with the mask off?  Anyhow, information technology's easier to not mention a backstory than to claim the grapheme forgot it.  Otherwise, you'll take to come up with something later and it better be worth the look.
6. Much like bootleg pudding, consistency is key.  Any backstory y'all start with has to be what you stick with.  Don't kickoff adding on ideas because they sound like neat twists.  For example, having a daughter who claims to have never left her subcontract begin telling stories of travel is a error.  Certain, she could have gone to the market place with her family to deliver appurtenances, but the foundation is not that of an established earth-traveler. The best you tin can do is say she read a lot of books, but that isn't a replacement for experience.
7. Those pieces of backstory that you cutting because they didn't fit in can notwithstanding be used.  People enjoy seeing behind-the-scenes stuff, and then putting this out on your blog or whatsoever social media y'all apply can aid gain interest.  You add depth to the character exterior of the volume, only many can understand why such a story didn't make the cut when yous published. This has actually become a popular method of getting readers or keeping a finished serial going.

Virtually Charles Yallowitz

Charles East. Yallowitz was born, raised, and educated in New York. Then he spent a few years in Florida, realized his fear of alligators, and moved dorsum to the Empire State. When he isn't working difficult on his epic fantasy stories, Charles can be found cooking or going on whatever take chances his son has planned for the 24-hour interval. 'Legends of Windemere' is his commencement series, but information technology certainly won't be his last.

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Source: https://legendsofwindemere.com/2018/06/05/7-tips-to-writing-character-backstories-prepare-the-cutting-room/

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